Anatomical study and colour Doppler assessment of the skin perforators of the anterior tibial artery and possible clinical applications

CDI, paired with knowledge of anatomical details, is a reliable tool for preoperative identification of septocutaneous perforators of 1 mm or larger outer diameter, thus providing critical information for planning and harvesting safe fasciocutaneous flaps of the lower leg. Additionally, according to our anatomical study, a new transverse fasciocutaneous flap (Type B according to the Nahai-Mathes classification), located over the distal anterolateral third of the lower leg and based on perforators of the anterior tibial artery, may be successfully used for covering selected defects of the distal third of the lower leg.