Salvage and reconstruction of complex post-extirpative knee wounds: A successful surgical protocol

Six patients with massive post-extirpative wounds of the knee, all of whom had received adjuvant therapy, underwent wound closure and limb salvage via free-tissue transfer in all but one case. No instance of delayed wound hea ling requiring surgery occurred among the patients reconstructed by microsu rgical tissue transfer. Five of the six patients are presently ambulating o n the salvaged extremity. A protocol for management of these complex wounds is presented.