Objective:To investigate the application of anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flap in repairing complex soft tissue defects in lower extremities.Methods:From January, 2015 to June, 2019, 76 cases of complex soft tissue defects in lower extremities were repaired with free anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flap pedicled with the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery, including 29 cases in shank and 47 cases in ankle, and all had various tissue necrosis, infection, deep tissue defect and orthopaedic implant exposure. The size of the wound ranged from 15 cm×8 cm to 35 cm×20 cm, in which 45 cases associated with dead cavity formation, 62 cases with combined fractures at the same site, and 38 cases with combined fractures or other system injuries in other sites. After debridement, VSD treatment, good wound granulation and infection control, the chimeric perforator flap pedicled with the descending branch of the circumflex lateral femoral artery was designed and harvested. The perforator flap was used to repair most of the wounds with deep tissue exposures, the muscle flap was used to fill the dead cavity and (or) cover the wound around the flap, and free skin was grafted of the muscle flap at the first or second stage. Scheduled follow-up was conducted after the operation.Results:All 76 flaps survived, including vascular crisis occurred in 2 cases within 72 hours after surgery and ceased after immediate surgical exploration. One case had a further surgical operation due to excessive bleeding. Partial necrosis occurred at the distal end of the flap or the skin graft area of the muscle flap in 4 cases, of which 2 cases were treated with grafted skin again and the other 2 cases completely eliminated the wound after active dressing change. Other 16 cases of post-traumatic osteomyelitis with bone defect were repaired respectively with bone grafting, bone transportation or Masquelet technique in 3 to 6 months after wound healing. Among the 76 cases, 68 cases had primary wound healing while 8 cases delayed. Seventy-one cases were followed-up from 9 to 24 months, with an average of 16 months, while 5 cases lost. The appearance and function of the affected limbs recovered satisfactorily without recurrence of infection.Conclusion:With the anterolateral thigh chimeric perforator flap transplantation, the perforators flap can be conveniently used to repair the wound, and the muscle flap can be used to fill dead cavity and(or) deep wounds with free skin graft. Only the descending branch of lateral circumflex femoral artery is required to be anastomosed. It achieves a 3-dimensional effective reconstruction of the complex wound in extremities. It is a safe and effective technique to repair and reconstruct the complex wound in lower extremities and ideal in clinical applications.

Functional reconstruction of a major injured nerve or muscle group in a destructive limb caused by high energy has always been a big problem for trauma orthopedists.When no local tendon,muscle or nerve is available for transference,functional free muscle transplantation (FFMT) is an ideal functional reconstruction method for severe limb injury characterized by definite curative effect and quick recovery.Gracilis is considered to be an ideal donor site for FFMT because of its anatomic features of long tendon,good excursion,stable blood supply,long neurovascular pedicle,shaded donor site,little donor site loss and sufficient nourishment of the whole musculocutaneous flap by anastomosis of one single major pedicle.It has been widely applied in clinics.Transplantation of single free gracilis flap,double free gracilis flaps,and adductor longus-gracilis flap with single pedicle anastomosis can meet different clinical applications.The best donor motor nerve,which is critical to functional restoration of the affected limb using FFMT,is always a major concern to many scholars.This paper focuses on the advances in functioning free gracilis transplantation in reconstruction of limb motor function,applied anatomy of the gracilis and application of functional reconstruction for major nerve injury and major muscle group defects in a destructive limb,hoping to provide useful information for wider clinical application of FFMT.

Objective To explore the clinical technical points of the treatment of soft tissue defect of the foot and ankle with the supercharged peroneal artery perforator propeller flap,and to provide theoretical support by anatomical observation.Methods From January,2010 to February,2018,a total of 10 patients with soft tissue defect of foot and ankle were treated with supercharged peroneal artery perforator propeller flap.Cause of injury:trauma in 7 cases,wound ulcer in 1 case,and poor healing of the calcaneus incision in 2 cases.Defect site:5 cases of heel,2 cases of medial and lateral malleolus,and 3 cases of dorsum and sole.The size of flap ranged from 6.0 cm×3.0 cm to 16.0 cm×5.0 cm.All patients were followed-up at 1,3,6 months after operation,and the function recovery was judged by AOFAS Ankle Hindfood Scale at 3 months post-opertively.From November,2016 to May,2017,the anatomical basis and operative points of the supercharged peroneal artery perforator flap were summarized.Results All the 10 cases of supercharged peroneal artery perforator propeller flap survived.Two of them had local epidermal necrosis at the proximal end of the flap.After 1 to 2 weeks of dressing,they finally healed.The other 8 cases healed well.Anatomical studies showed that different planes of the supercharged peroneal artery perforator propeller flap can only reduce the compression of the double pedicles and reduce the distal necrosis rate of the flap by rotating in different rotation directions.Conclusion The supercharged peroneal artery perforator propeller flap can enhance the blood supply and venous return in the "big paddle" artery of the flap,preventing distal necrosis.

Objective To evaluate the feasibility and clinical efficacy of our self-designed simple skin stretching device combined with collagen sponge for management of severe soft tissue wounds.Methods From September 2015 to October 2017,a consecutive series of 43 patients whose soft tissue wounds could not be closed primarily were enrolled for a therapy using a simple skin stretching device made of round osseous pins and wire combined with collagen sponge.They were 27 males and 16 females,with a mean age of 31.5 years (from 5 to 56 years).There were 18 fresh wounds and 25 old ones.Their skin defects ranged from 5.5 cm × 3.0 cm to 18.0 cm × 7.5 cm.After debridement and vacuum sealing drainage,2 round osseous pins with a diameter of 2.0 mm or 2.5 mm were driven through the dermis about 1 to 2 cm from both edges of the wound,in parallel with the longitudinal axis of the wound.After the parts of 2 pins exposed outside the skin were bent,they were fixed respectively with a fine wire with 2 twisted strands.The wounds were continuously stitched with eversion suture.The wires and sutures were gradually tightened to contract the wounds until the skin color changed and capillary filling reaction started.Then medical collagen sponge was used to cover the wounds.Next,the wires and sutures were tightened continuously until the wound edges were pulled together.Details of this therapy and its complications were recorded.Follow-up visits were paid until wound healing.Results Of the 43 cases,the wounds were directly closed immediately after primary stretching procedure in 8,closed after skin stretching for 4 to 12 days (average,7.5 days) in 30,and significantly reduced in 5 which were cured following skin graft.Eventually,40 cases were followed up for an average of 6.8 months (from 3 to 18 months) and 3 were lost.Aesthetic reoperation was performed in 3 patients who were inflicted with postoperative scar formation after skin graft.Linear healing of the wound edges was achieved in 37 patients without complications like skin necrosis,pathological hyperplasia scar,skin sensation deletion or wound infection,leading to fine appearance and functional recovery.Conclusion Our self-designed simple skin stretching device combined with collagen sponge provides a cost-effective and practical technique for clinical treatment of soft tissue defects,with an advantage of reducing or even avoiding secondary repair with skin graft or skin flap.

Objective To explore the surgical technique and the efficacy of free descending genicular artery perforator flap without saphenous vein for tissue defect. Methods 18 cases of extremity tissue defect were involved in this study from Au?gust 2010 to April 2014, including 16 males and 2 females with an average age of 32.4 years (8 plantar or heel soft tissue defect, 10 back of hand or palm soft tissue defect). 2 old injury cases that had soft tissue defect after scar release were treated by free flaps and the other 16 were open injury with infection, among which 5 cases were combined with fractures or bone defect. Sizes of the skin and soft tissue defect were 2.0 cm × 8.0 cm to 9.0 cm × 12.0 cm. All wounds were treated by free descending genicular artery perforator flap from the contralateral limb. Medial femoral cutaneous nerve was kept in flaps as far as possible. The projection points of descending genicular artery perforator and saphenous vein were detected by Doppler, then the flaps were cut with reverse approach, and saphenous vein and saphenous nerve were preserved. Results All 18 flaps were survived and all cases were fol?lowed up for 3 to 30 months (average, 10.3 months). The flap sizes varied from 2.5 cm×9.0 cm-9.5 cm×13.0 cm. 2 cases with bone defect were healed 3 months later without infection, and the other 3 cases with fractures were healed 2-3 months after operation. The two point’s discrimination distance was 7.0-12.0 mm on the flap. The disabilities of the arm, shoulder, and hand question?naire score averaged 51, and the mean Japanese Orthopaedic Association's foot rating scale was 70.5. Most patients were satisfied with appearance of the recipient and donor sites, among which 5 cases had skin?graft on the donor sites, and the other 12 cases had small scars on the donor sites. Poor healing was detected in 1 case on the thigh which was healed 3 weeks later. There was no par?esthesia and rash on the donor sites. The mean distance between projection points of descending genicular artery perforator and sa?phenous vein was 3.7 cm. Conclusion Free descending genicular artery perforator flap without saphenous vein is an optimal therapy for the extremity tissue defect, which has the advantage of covert donor site, less invasion, less variation of perforator, and could recover the skin sense of recipient site.

Objective To discuss the technique and clinical effect of infective long bone defect treated by external fixator combination of iliac bone graft with deep iliac circumflex vessels.Methods All 28 patients with posttraumatic infective long bone defect were treated by external fixator and iliac bone graft with deep iliac circumflex vessels from July, 2008 to June, 2014.The length of the bone defect was from 3 to 7 cm (averaged 5.1 cm), including tibia defect in 13 patients, femoral defect in 7, humeral defect in 4, and ulna and radius defect respectively in 2, and 17 patients also with soft tissue defect.After thorough debridement, the bone defect was fixed by the external fixator, and then VSD was applied for irrigation drainage.As fresh granulation tissue growth, iliac bone vascularized by deep iliac circumflex vessels, size from size 5.0 cm× 3.0 cm to 8.0 cm× 3.5 cm, was transplanted.As for composite defect of infective bone and soft tissue in 17 patients, 6 cases of them was repaired with the iliac flap combined free flap, three with the iliac flap combined local skin flap, 4 cases with the iliac flap doubled with both the deep and the shallow iliac circumflex vessels, 3 cases with the circumflex iliac artery chimeric perforators flap and 1 with random iliac osteocutaneous flap.Affected limb function was graded with Enneking's system.Results All transplanted vascularized iliac bone survived, postoperative infection controlled well, but there were 2 patients of iliac flap partial necrosis.After dressing exchange and reoperation, the wound all repaired again.Twenty-six patients followed from 8 to 50 months, with an average of 18 months while 2 patients lost postoperative.The osseous healing time of the iliac bone graft was an average of 6.5 months, 25 patients healed well but 1 case encouraged tibia fracture again.Appearance of the limb also recovered satisfactorily.Twenty-six patients had the average limb function restored in 89.7％.There was no obvious complication in the donor.Conclusion It is an effective technical method to treat infective long bone defect by external fixator combination of iliac bone graft with deep iliac circumflex vessels, which can not only fix and bridge bone defects and enhance bone healing, but also obliterate dead space and resist local infection by ensuring blood supply.But the method is suitable for the receipt site infection under control and the length of the long bone defect less than 10 cm.

Objective To explore the surgical method and curative effect of free vascularized fibular graft bridged vascu?lar pedicle by vein transplantation for infective long bone defect with or without soft tissue defect reconstruction. Methods From June 2008 to January 2014, 17 patients with infective long bone defect were treated, 11 male and 6 female, 1.5 to 55 years old and averaged 31.3 years. 8 cases in femur, 5 cases in tibia, 3 cases in humerus and 1 case in radius. Bone defect were 4 to 19 cm in length with an average of 9.4 cm. 8 cases with soft tissue defect, from 5.0 cm×3.0 cm to 17.0 cm×5.5 cm. Required adequate surgi?cal debridement, and vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) was used. Free vascularized fibular (skin) flap was designed and harvested . Artery and veins close to the health site were dissected, and bridged vascular pedicle of free vascularized fibular flap by autolo?gous vein transplantation with end to end anastomosis. The length free vascularized fibular graft was from 5 to 18 cm, with an aver?age of 9.6 cm. The free fibula flap ranged from 6.5 cm×4.0 cm to 18.0 cm×6.0 cm. Results All the 17 cases of fibular flap sur?vived, no vascular crisis happened. Post?operative wound primary healed in 11 cases, delayed 1 to 2 weeks to heal in 6 cases. Cal?lus was seen in the 6 to 8 weeks later. 15 cases were followed from 9 months to 6 years (averaged 30 months) while 2 cases were lost to follow?up. Bone defect primary healed in 13 cases, and the fibula graft unhealed in 2 cases, but healed again after a second operation. Fibula stress fracture occurred in one case at 7 months after grafting procedures and bone union was achieved 4 months after reapplying an external fixator. Infected bone defect healing time ranged from 4.2 to 9.8 months, averaged 5.9 months. Accord?ing to the Enneking score, 11 cases were excellent, good in 3 cases, one in fair. Excellent and Good rate was 93.3%. Conclusion Free vascularized fibular (skin) graft with vein bridged vascular pedicle can not only effectively repair infected bone and soft tissue defect, but also improve local blood supply and control infection, shorten the course of treatment, which is an effective treatment of infective long bone defects with or without soft tissue defects.

Background and purpose:Researches had indicated that about over 85%of malignant tumors highly express telomerase activity. So telomerase has become one of the important methods in the research field of tumor diagnosis and treatment. Nowadays, several reports about malignant tumor which over expresses hTERT targeting imaging with radionuclide labeled hTERT ASON had been published. In these reports, high quality of pictures can hardly be acquired because of poor anatomical and spacial resolution in nuclear imaging itself. Accordingly, in this study, we developed a method of detecting human telomerase in vivo with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and evaluate its feasibility. Methods:Firstly, Uniformly phosphorothioate-modified human telomerase reverse transcriptase antisense oligonucleotide (hTERT ASON) was labeled with Gd3+ through the bifunctional chelator 1, 4, 7, 10-tetraazacyclododecane-N, N’, N’’, N’’’-tetraacetic acid (DOTA) and iv vitro experiments were performed to characterize the antisense probes (for biodistribution and cellular uptake, 99mTc-DOTA-ASON was used in stead of Gd-DOTA-ASON). Then Gd-DOTA-ASON was injected intraperitoneally in pulmonary adenocarcinoma A375 nude mice tumor-bearing BALB/c for in vivo imaging using 7.0 T Micro MRI periodically, tumors and their surrounding tissues were defined as region of interest (ROI) to calculate the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of tumor to muscle using Gd-DTPA as control. Finally, immunohistochemical analysis of telomerase activity of each xenograft was operated 2 days after imaging. Results:The binding efficiency of Gd-DOTA-ASON reached was as high as 65%(63.2±2.4, n=6). And it can maintain 61%in fresh human serum and normal saline at 37℃over 24 h;A375 cells showed an uptake of 8.5%when incubated with 99mTc-DOTA-ASON;In comparing with DOTA-ASON and Gd-DTPA, cells transected with Gd-DOTA-ASON had higher SI when performed MRI with T1WI. The hTERT-expressing xenografts were obviously enhanced by Gd-DOTA-ASON at 0.5-6 h after injection and the SNR can reach 2.37, whereas obvious enhancement only could be found within 2 h after injection of Gd-DTPA. Both labeled and non-labeled antisense probes can suppress the activity of telomerase of A375 cells either in vitro or in vitro. Conclusion:Our research offers proof that Gd-DOTA-ASON can be used as tumor specific targeting MR probe for diagnosing malignant tumors with high expression of telomerase.

ObjectiveTo discuss the clinic application and surgical technique of the free flap by inverted-Y-shape microvascular anastomosis in tissue defect repair and functional reconstruction of the limb.Methods Twenty-two flaps in 18 patients were involved in the study between June 2006 and September 2010( 12 cases for soft tissue defect repair with exposure of the tendons, bones or joints, and 6 cases for functional reconstruction;five cases were around the elbows and 13 cases were around the extremity of the lower limb). Before free flap graft, twelve cases with infective tissue defect were debrided extensively and covered with vacuum sealing drainage from 1 to 2 times and each time last 5 to 7 days until the granulation tissue growing well.Designed the free anterolateral thigh flaps with the transverse and descending branches of the lateral femoral circumflex vessels or free latissimus dorsi flaps with the subscapular and circumflex scapular vessels forming a inverted-Y-shape pedicle to repair the tissue defect or to reconstruct the limb function.The recipient artery was sectioned and the arterial tree of the flap was anastomosed to the recipient vessel by two end-to-end anastomoses.This inverted-Y-shape microvascular anastomosis could supply blood for both the free flap and the extremity of the limb.Not all of the veins of the recipient limb need to be cut off.Observed the circulation of the limb extremity, and evaluated the quality of flaps'survival.ResultsComplete flap survival was achieved in 21 flaps and without vaso-occlusive crisis;while partial flap loss in 1 case, which healed after changing dressings.The mean follow-up was 16.2 (6-36) months postoperatively,appearance of the flaps and the functions of limbs were satisfactory,and no obvious complication was found in the donor site.ConclusionThe free flap by inverted-Y-shape microvascular anastomosis is a new choice for the tissue defect repair and functional reconstruction of the limb,especially for the wound around elbow or extremity of the lower limb with one major artery destroyed.

Objective To evaluate the surgical technique and clinical significance of the therapy for ankle soft tissue defect with 2 different flee perforator flaps.Methods Twenty-five cases of ankle soft tissue defect with exposed bone of the ankle were involved in this study from August 2006 to April 2012.and the wound sizes varied from 4.0 cm × 5.5 cm to 11.0 cm × 23.0 cm.Twenty cases with acrotarsium soft tissue defect were repaired by free anterolateral thigh perforator flap,five cases with pelma soft tissue defect were repaired by free saphenous artery perforator flap.Results All Twenty-five flaps survived.At 3 to 50 months follow-up [on an average of (18.0 ± 0.8) months] postoperatively,appearance of the flaps was satisfactory,with 10 to 22 mm in 2-PD,and the sensation percentage beyond S2+ was 13/20 cases and 5/5 cases at 3 months follow-up,respectively.Conclusion The optimal therapy for the acrotarsium soft tissue defect is the free perforator anterolateral thigh flap,and free saphenous artery perforator flap should be used for pelma soft tissue defect.Avoid secondary orthopaedic surgery,pay more attention to the donor site of the flap.VSD can significantly promoting the survival rates of the free perforator flaps if the soft defects are caused by open injury.