The impact of superficial femoral artery (SFA) occlusion on the outcome of proximal sartorius muscle transposition flaps in vascular surgery patients

ObjectivesTo demonstrate the feasibility and safety of proximal sartorius muscle rotational flaps in patients with peripheral occlusive artery disease.MethodsRetrospective analysis of 53 patients with 56 proximal sartorius muscle flaps. Indication for a flap procedure was postoperative calcitrant lymphorrhea in nine, graft at risk in 13, and graft infection in 34 procedures. Pre- and postoperative patencies of the superficial femoral artery (SFA) and profundal femoral artery (PFA) were documented. Flap viability, wound healing, and limb salvage were examined at follow-up.ResultsIn 59% of the procedures in this series, the SFA was occluded. The PFA was patent in all patients. Flap viability (100% vs 94%), rate of new (4% vs 6%), and recurrent infections (9% vs 6%), loss of vascular reconstruction rate (9% vs 9%), and limb salvage rate (100% vs 88%) did not differ significantly between the SFA patent and the SFA occluded group. There were four new infections (7%) and three recurrent infections (5.5%) during follow-up, five of which led to a loss of reconstruction. In four of those five patients, the sartorius flap was viable. Two patients died during the immediate postoperative period from septic multi-organ failure (3%). At a median follow-up of 6.4 months, 54 flaps were viable and wound closure was achieved in all surviving 51 patients. Limb salvage rate was 93%.ConclusionsBiologic protection procedures as local muscle flaps are vital adjuncts to vascular surgery techniques in the treatment of complicated wounds in the groin. Occlusion of the SFA in the presence of a patent PFA is not associated with an increased risk of flap loss in proximal sartorius muscle rotational flaps.