BACKGROUNDThe reconstructive options for the soft tissues in extremities present serious challenges due to thin non-expendable soft tissues and predisposition to massive edema formation, thus frequently requiring flap cover. This study was undertaken to assess the outcome of a modified version of the sural artery flap with that of propeller perforator flaps for the reconstruction of lower extremities, particularly the heel defects. METHODS This prospective study was conducted on 40 consecutive patients, of which 20 treated with sural artery flap and another 20 with perforator based propeller flap cover for soft tissue reconstruction in extremities based on predefined inclusion criteria. The clinical outcome of the flap was assessed after three months. RESULTSInclusion of the posterior tibial perforators (along with the sural artery and the peroneal artery) was shown to enhance the flap territory. The raising of the flap was quick with minimal blood loss and the modified flap had a wide arc of rotation for reconstruction of the heel defects. The younger patients regained sensation on the flap earlier, while the durability of the fasciocutaneous flap was excellent in the heel weight bearing areas. The success rate was 95% flap take. CONCLUSION Careful selection of the perforator and optimal designing of the flap result in favorable outcomes with the use of local perforator flaps for reconstruction in extremities. It provides predictable clinical outcomes with minimal donor site morbidity, is costeffective, relatively easy technique and requires no special microsurgical setup or instruments.

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Yuriy Kochubey, the diplomat and philologist, the historian and culturologist, the famous Ukrainian Orientalist, was born in Poltava on July 09, 1932. His life trajectory is wondrous and enticing. Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Ukraine to France, Deputy Director-General of UNESCO organization, deputy minister of foreign affairs of the Ukrainian SSR, teacher and writer -the list goes on and on.Yuriy Kochubey has been working in the A. Yu. Krymsky Institute of Oriental Studies of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine for the last 20 years. During this time he has proved himself as a talented manager and an outstanding researcher. He has published several monographs and dozens of articles dedicated to Arabic studies and the history of Oriental Studies in Ukraine and abroad. Moreover, he has made a major contribution to the development of the journal The World of the Orient (Shìdnij svìt), where he has been an editor-in-chief for 10 years. Due to his efforts the Institute has received UNESCO's support for conducting publishing and conference activities. Yuriy Kochubey was also the head of the Institute's scientific seminar during a long period of time. He is the member of the Scientific Council of the Institute, as well as the member of editorial boards of numerous scientific publications.Over the period of a long-term service Yuriy Kochubey has preserved his, probably, most prominent quality -to be a great human being. Flamboyant and noble, always surrounded by young people with whom he manages to share his life's experience and creative knowledge, Yuriy Kochubey has become the symbol of the modern Ukrainian diplomatic corps.