[Coverage of anterior knee defect by reverse flow anterolateral thigh flap: About two cases]

The coverage of soft-tissue defects concerning the front of the knee and the proximal lower leg is a complex procedure. The reverse flow anterolateral thigh flap represents a good solution for this defects, especially when the coverage surface is large-sized and a free flap is not appropriate regarding the difficulty of the process. Flap retrograde vascularization is based on the anastomosis between the descending branch of the circumflex femoral artery and lateral superior genicular artery. It is an easy solution with low morbidity. The authors have chosen this flap to cover soft-tissue defect of anterior knee from two patients with total knee prothesis.

[Use of a free antero-lateral thigh flap for two-stage reconstruction of a large thoracic defect]

In case of extremely large thoracic full-thickness defects where no pedicled flap is available, very large free flaps are sometimes the only options. Dealing with such full-thickness defects where failure of the flap could be lethal, Servant and al described the concept of "two stage free flap" using Latissimus Dorsi muscular or myocutaneous flap. We present a reconstruction of a wide right posterior trunk radionecrosis with exposure of an underlying infected prosthesis using this two-stage free flap strategy with a fasciocutaneous antero-lateral thigh flap.