Anatomical basis for distal sartorius muscle flap for reconstructive surgery below the knee. Anatomical study and case report

Summary 

We report a case of a woman presenting with a long-term non-healing wound below the tibial tubercle that underwent a successful sartorius muscle flap.

We performed an anatomical study of the vascularisation of the sartorius muscle. The vascular supply to the distal part of the sartorius muscle was studied in 15 limbs by dissection and after red ink and latex injections. The artery of the sartorius muscle flap arises most of the time from the saphenous artery or the descending genicular artery and is supplied through anastomoses by branches of the posterior tibial artery and the medial inferior genicular artery. The flap is useful for covering wounds around the knee, as well as the proximal and the middle thirds of the leg. The surgical technique is relatively simple, with a low morbidity from muscle harvesting.

Keywords: Sartorius muscle, Anatomy, Arterial supply, Reconstructive surgery, Surgical flap