MICROLEAPS IN THE PROGRESSION OF FLAPS AND GRAFTS

No momentous upheavals in the past decade have altered radically the k nowledge or application of ''flaps and grafts,'' but ''microleaps'' in slow and steady increments have ensured a continuum of progress. Fasc iocutaneous flaps, owing to an intimate relationship with the superfic ial nerves, may be neurocutaneous flaps in disguise. Distal-based flap s that recruit orthograde circulation may be made even more reliable f or extremity coverage in lieu of complex microsurgical techniques. As success at the recipient site has now become so routine, further outco me improvement has been directed toward enhancing the appearance and r esidual function at the previously neglected donor site. The future of plastic surgery will continue to parallel advances in the principles of flaps, constrained only by the boundaries of imagination.