THE INFERIORLY BASED RECTUS-ABDOMINIS ISLAND FLAP FOR THE TREATMENT OF COMPLEX HIP WOUNDS

Complex wounds in the hip region often result from complications of or thopedic procedures performed in this region such as total hip arthrop lasty, ORIF procedures, tumor ablation, and/or radiation therapy. Expo sure of bone, joint capsule, prostheses, and other hardware often resu lts with these wounds. Salvage of these exposed and/or infected essent ial elements and providing soft-tissue coverage are difficult and chal lenging problems for the orthopedic and plastic surgeon. To provide co verage for such situations, we have developed an aggressive strategy o f thorough debridement, systemic antibiotics, and well-vascularized so ft-tissue coverage utilizing an inferiorly based rectus abdominis isla nd flap. This technique was utilized in five patients with all wounds and joints remaining stable at follow-up periods ranging from 2 to 7 y ears.