Knee joint reconstruction using regional flaps: an aesthetic approach to extensive defects following fourth-degree contact burns

Abstract

Flap surgery may be required in cases of severe contact burns. The authors report a patient with an exposed knee joint. A 47-year-old man experienced a wide and deep contact burn on his right knee from a stove while under the influence of alcohol. The patient underwent escharectomy, medial and lateral gastrocnemius muscle flap surgery, pedicled anterolateral thigh flap surgery with a meshed scalp split-thickness skin graft, and secondary antegrade peroneal fasciocutaneous flap surgery with a thigh split-thickness skin graft. The patient was able to walk with a hinged brace at 2 months after surgery.

Keywords

• knee joint
• burns
• surgical flaps
• transplants