PARASCAPULAR FLAP FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF SEVERE AXILLARY CONTRACTURE

Abstract

Axillary contracture is a challenging problem to the reconstructive surgeon owing to the wide range of abduction that should be achieved and due to the common unavailability of local tissues to be used for reconstruction of the axilla. Patients and methods: Twenty patients with contractures of the axilla were treated in the plastic surgery unit of general surgery Department, Zagazig University in the period between May 2010 & June 2012. The patient’s age were ranged between 6 and 38 years with a mean age 24 years of them 18 males and two females. Ten patients were due to post burn and the other ten were due to post traumatic axillary contractures. Parascapular flaps were done for all patients. Results: All flaps are survived. Functional improvement was quite satisfactory. The cosmetic result was also satisfactory in most of the cases except for two patients due to depression in their back scars and difficulty in adduction due to bulkiness of the flaps in the axilla.
We concluded that the parascapular flap is the best choice for reconstruction of severe types of axillary contracture, releasing defects with satisfactory results in terms of function and cosmoses.