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Burns to the eyelid often constitute difficult problems for reconstruction or repair. Functional and aesthetic aspects have to be considered, and suitable donor sites are not readily available in severely burned patients. In male patients, the prepuce yields an almost ideal skin for eyelid repair because of its high elasticity and adequate texture. Two patients with repair of both upper eyelids using the prepuce are demonstrated. The color match of this skin graft is satisfying. If both layers of the prepuce are transplanted, they yield enough tissue to cover both upper eyelids. This method seems to be an adequate method of reconstruction of burned eyelids in severely burned male patients when the usual donor sites for skin grafts are not available.

The use of myocutaneous flaps for the treatment of pelvic pressure sores is well accepted, yet there are still unanswered questions about why myocutaneous flaps are clinically superior to skin flaps. An experiment involving 16 pigs revealed new data on the diffusion of infection through myocutaneous and cutaneous flaps, showing that the muscles can act as a barrier against such infection. In 51 patients seen consecutively in 1988, osseous specimens of the infected bottom of the decubital ulcers were taken. There was florid osteomyelitis in 65.9% of all specimens, further emphasizing the importance of muscle flaps in the treatment of pelvic pressure sores when infection is still present. The fate of 16 transposed gluteus maximus muscles was monitored by electromyography postoperatively; 15 still showed voluntomotoricity up to 7 months after transposition.