Reconstruction of the soft tissue defects on the heel continues to be a difficult challenges, because that the skin of the heel is a specialized, durable, and weight-bering structure.
Many surgical methods are available to reconstruct the soft tissue defects on the heel, but the ideal coverage for the heel should be a sensory flap, which is similar to the durable, thick heel pad, and which brings with it sufficient padding but not bulky, aesthetically acceptable contour, and a reliable blood supply.
We have experienced 12 cases of the reconstruction of the heel form 1982 to 1985.The methods of the reconstuction were lateral calcaneal artery skin flaps in 6 patients, midplantar fasciocutaneous island flaps in 2 patients, and cross-leg flaps in 4 patients.
The surgical details for each of these are outlined and examples are given. We also have discussed advantages and disadvantages of these flaps for the reconstruction of the heel in this paper.
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