Bipedicle strap flaps in reconstruction of longitudinal dorsal skin defects of the digits

Dorsal skin defects in which the loss of integument is longitudinal in shap e are not uncommon after injury by rotating machinery and by glass shearing along the length of the digit. This shape of defect is difficult to recons truct with commonly used flaps but lends itself to reconstruction by the us e of longitudinal bipedicle strap flaps moved across the dorsum of the fing er from lateral to medial. A variant of this traditional technique was used in the reconstruction of 28 dorsal digital defects. The incidence of these defects and the need for this reconstructive technique were analyzed by a review of 1077 patients with dorsal digital injuries treated in a 6-year pe riod between 1989 and 1995. Approximately 20 percent of all dorsal digital injuries requiring flap reconstructon were suitable for reconstruction with bipedicle strap flaps.