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What Exactly Is A Flap Surgery And How Does It Work On An Open Wound?
I am a 64 year old polio survivor, Had polio when I was 11 months old. Have had 15 to 20 surgeries correcting things til I was 16 yrs old My left ankle was fused when I was 12 and was fine til early 80 s when I got a bone infection in that ankle. Had it debrided 3 times and finally it healed. Over the years the skin is very thin and in August of 2010 I bumped it. It started out with a pinhole and opened up a while after. I ve had 3 surgeries and a skin graph for this . I wore a wound vac for a few months but it just wont heal. My orthopedic is talking about some kind of surgery called a flap but don t understand completely how this works. Any advice on what exactly is a flap and how does it work on an open wound?
Wed, 16 Oct 2013
Hi, thanks for writing to HCM.
A non healing wound (as in your case) indicates poor blood supply in that area. Flaps (which usually mean myocutaneous flaps) are nothing but vascularized muscle and fascial tissues harvested from the adjacent site of your existing wound and will be turned down over the wound so as to cover its entire extent providing good vascular bed and promoting healing.
Hope this information is helpful. Good day
A non healing wound (as in your case) indicates poor blood supply in that area. Flaps (which usually mean myocutaneous flaps) are nothing but vascularized muscle and fascial tissues harvested from the adjacent site of your existing wound and will be turned down over the wound so as to cover its entire extent providing good vascular bed and promoting healing.
Hope this information is helpful. Good day
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