Efficacy and safety of free medial plantar flap in repair of the high-voltage electrical burns in hands

The purpose of this work was to validate the efficacy and safety of free medial plantar flap in repair of hand wounds resulted from high-voltage electrical burn. 22 patients with high-voltage electrical burn wounds were retrieved between July 2016 and July 2018 in the Affiliated Zhengzhou Central Hospital of Zhengzhou University. All the wounds were the entrance of high-voltage electrical current. After thorough debridement, the blood vessels, nerves, tendons, joints were exposed to defects with different degrees. The soft tissue defects were repaired with the free medial plantar flap repair in 12 patients and medium-thickness skin graft in 10 patients. Postoperative management was similar between the two groups. All the operations were completed within 6 h. In the free medial plantar flap group, the mean follow-up period was (11.3 ± 2.4) months, ranging from 9 to 15 months, and all flaps survived; there were no vessel crises. Flaps of 10 patients healed without any complications, and local necrosis occurred in two cases, with healing after debridement. The two-point discrimination (TPD) was 7.0–11.0 mm, and the mean DASH score was 45.6 ± 7.4. In the medium-thickness skin graft group, the mean follow-up period was (10.9 ± 1.8) months. All flaps survived, and local contracture occurred in 3 cases. The TPD was 8.0–11.0 mm, and the mean DASH score was 60.7 ± 9.3. The free medial plantar flap is an ideal option for repairing the hand soft defects resulted from the high-voltage electrical burn.