Rj. Rohrich et Ae. Ingram, BRACHIORADIALIS MUSCLE FLAP - CLINICAL ANATOMY AND USE IN SOFT-TISSUERECONSTRUCTION OF THE ELBOW, Annals of plastic surgery, 35(1), 1995, pp. 70-76
A detailed gross anatomical dissection of 53 upper extremities was per
formed to define the muscular and vascular anatomy of the brachioradia
lis muscle and to evaluate its arc of rotation with specific examinati
on of its usefulness in covering soft-tissue defects of the elbow regi
on, A consistent vascular anatomy was delineated, with a major pedicle
found each time near the elbow arising (in descending order of freque
ncy) from the radial recurrent, radial, and brachial arteries, A varia
ble number of minor pedicles were found throughout the muscle's length
, Pedicled proximally, the distal muscle could cover the elbow both an
teriorly and posteriorly in each case; the proximal portion of the mus
cle (distally pedicled flap) could cover the anterior elbow consistent
ly (100%) as well as the posterior elbow (in 91% of dissections). The
muscle's am of rotation encompasses the distal half of the arm and the
proximal two thirds of the forearm, with a consistent ability to cove
r defects of up to 3 cm in the elbow region, Our studies confirm a con
sistent and robust vascular anatomy as well as an are of rotation that
allows predictable coverage of elbow defects in a one-stage procedure
with minimal morbidity, no loss of upper extremity function, and no n
eed to sacrifice the major vessels of the upper extremity.