TREATMENT OF NONHEALING ULCERS OF THE LOWER-EXTREMITY WITH FREE MUSCLE FLAPS - CASE-REPORTS

The surgical management of ulcers in the lower extremity is traditiona lly conservative, and includes debridement and split thickness skin gr afting. In the most intractable cases, however, this management is oft en not enough. In this report of three patients with non-healing ulcer s of the lower extremity successfully treated with free muscle flaps, we advocate a more active surgical approach to the treatment of such c onditions. This is also appropriate in patients for whom a microsurgic al approach might not be considered because of advanced age, periphera l arterio-occlusive disease, or the presence of other risk factors.