Versatility of the vertical designed deep inferior epigastric perforator flap

摘要: The deep inferior epigastric perforator (DIEP) flap is one of the most commonly used flaps. However, when horizontally oriented, it has certain pitfalls such as sacrifice contralateral donor site, need to discard soft tissue that will not be adequately perfused, and long operating times. To overcome these handicaps, in a vertical orientation was designed demonstrated versatility this technique number different anatomical restorations study. DIEP flaps were 8 patients (7 males 1 female) 3 years. Defects located lower limb (4 cases), face (3 hip (1 cases). All transferred free, except pedicled. Flap sizes varied from 7 × 5 cm 13 9 cm. defects closed primarily. mean follow-up time 13.6 months. survived totally, but which had partial necrosis. A hematoma developed postoperatively site pedicled flap. Cosmetic outcomes satisfactory all patients. scars acceptable with minimal contour irregularities. offers diverse opportunities various reconstructions candidate an important choice free repertoire. method can proposed particularly for restoration moderate sized rather than large postmastectomy breast reconstruction. © 2009 Wiley-Liss, Inc. Microsurgery, 2009.