The forearm is frequently involved in extremity amputation. In cases of extremity amputation, treatment strategy includes considerations regarding the general condition of the patient, the site of the injury and severity of the tissue loss, functional prognosis, and social background.Functional free muscle transfer is a valuable tool to reconstruct the upper extremity and is indicated for late reconstruction of brachial plexus injuries, traumatic muscle loss, Volkmann ischemic contracture, and loss resulting from oncologic resection.1,2 The gracilis muscle is one of the most commonly used donor muscles for functional muscle transfer, and is ideal for the reconstruction of the flexor group.
1-4Perioperative deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a potentially fatal complication due to the risk of pulmonary embolism (PE). 5,6 There are several reports describing temporary inferior vena cava (IVC) filter placement preoperatively to prevent PE.
7-9However, standard perioperative management of DVT is unclear.There are many factors that could lead to or exacerbate DVT/PE during free flap transfer, including the length of the operation, intraoperative position changes, and perioperative suspension of anticoagulants. We report our management strategy for a case of free gracilis muscle flap transfer for functional forearm reconstruction after traumatic amputation and reimplantation in a patient with a known DVT.
Keywords► forearm amputation ► functional free muscle transfer ► deep venous thrombosis
AbstractBackground Free muscle transfer is the gold standard procedure for functional upper extremity reconstruction. The gracilis muscle is one of the most commonly used donor muscles due to the reduced morbidity of its harvest.Case We performed a free gracilis muscle flap transfer for functional reconstruction of a forearm after reimplantation in a 62-year-old man with a known deep venous thrombosis (DVT).Result Perioperative DVT is a potentially fatal complication due to the risk of pulmonary embolism. There were many risk factors in this case for venous thromboembolism around the time of free flap transfer including the length of the operation, intraoperative position changes, and perioperative suspension of anticoagulants. We divided the operation into two stages to reduce operative times, chose a donor site that did not require intraoperative position changes, placed an indwelling temporary filter in the inferior vena cava preoperatively, and continued administration of anticoagulant intraoperatively.Conclusion With these measures, we safely and successfully performed free gracilis muscle transfer in a patient with DVT.