The lateral arm flap was reported first by Song et at. in 3982, and Katsaros and
colleagues described an anatomic study and clinical cases in 1984. This flap is thin, has
relatively constant vascular anatomy, and provides relatively acceptable scar at the donor
site. Despite its many advantages its wide application has been limited by its short
vascular pedicle with small diameter of lumen, and its small skin paddle.
We studied its anatomical structure to get longer length of vascular pedicle, wide
diameter and thinner part of flap beyond the lateral condyle through 6 fresh cadaver
dissection and dye injection study. We experienced 21 cases of lateral arm free flaps
and 26 cases of forearm free flaps from May, 1992 to January, 1996. We compared its
usefulness with forearm free flaps in the aspects of donor morbidity, operative factors,
quality of clap , and versatility.
In conclusion, lateral arm flap can replace the role of forearm flap in most cases so
that patient's donor morbidity can be reduced especially in the women.
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