Current therapeutic management of complex wounds of the distal third of the leg in the Trauma Hospital (Prof. Manuel Giagni) and in the Plastic Surgery Unit of the Faculty of Medical Sciences – UNA

Abstract

Introduction: The wound is a loss of continuity of the skin or mucosa produced by some physical or chemical agent. A wound is “complex” when due to its extension, location, depth, exposure of noble elements, it requires special therapy to heal. This is the case of wounds with tissue involvement that affects structures such as muscles, fascia, tendons, bones, blood vessels, nerves, or slowly evolving lesions such as ulcers or bedsores. Objectives: Determine the reconstruction method most used in the therapeutic management of complex wounds of the distal third of the leg in patients treated at the Trauma Hospital and the Plastic Surgery Unit of the FCM – UNA. Materials and methods: Observational, descriptive, and temporally retrospective study. Patients of both sexes, of legal age, with complex wounds in the distal third of the leg, treated at the Trauma Hospital and in the Plastic Surgery Unit of the FCM – UNA, during the period 2010 to 2019, were included. Results: 112 patients were included, of which 80.36% are men and 19.64% are women. The ages range from 18 to 73 years and an average of 33.8 ± 14 years. The most common age was 18 years. The median age is 30 years, which implies that half of the sample is at least that age. Regarding origin, 41.07% are from the interior, 30.36% from the Central department and the remaining 28.57% from Asunción. Regarding the mechanism of injury, the most frequent mechanism was a traffic accident, followed by a fall from a height, in a large percentage. Regarding the evolution and complications, 92, that is, 82% of the patients do not have any negative evolution or complications. The most common was infection with 1.9%, partial loss of the flap or skin represented 2.4%, suture dehiscence with 0.9%, hematoma 0.6%, and total loss of the flap 0.54. %. Regarding the treatment applied, it must be considered that patients may have received more than one treatment, so the sample size refers to visits. The most frequent treatment was the sural flap with 28.57%, external tutor with 20.19%, skin graft 16.46%, toilette 12.73% and fasciocutaneous flap in 6.21%. Conclusion: Most cases treated correspond to some type of traffic accident. A multidisciplinary team is needed: orthopedists, plastic surgeons, vascular surgeons, physiotherapists, etc. in coordinated work to treat these serious injuries to obtain favorable results. To cover the traumatized leg, with bone exposure, we resort to muscle flaps. In the proximal 1/3, the gastrocnemius. In the middle 1/3, the soleus. To cover the distal 1/3 of the leg we used the neuro-veno-fascio-cutaneous (sural) flap to the distal pedicle.