Article

A retrospective study reporting specific complications of certain
skin flaps for treating pressure ulcers.Objectives:To describe the rate and type
of complications after pressure ulcer surgery in patients with spinal cord
injury.Setting:Germany, Rheinland Pfalz.Methods:We collected data from 352
patients treated with 421 skin flaps to determine the rate and type of
complications of each skin flap used.Results:In this study, we analyzed the
results of 421 skin flaps in 352 patients with a total of 657 pressure ulcers
from January 2006 to December 2010. Our patients had ischial, pelvic, sacral,
trochanteric and lower extremity ulcers. Ischial ulcers were most common,
followed by sacral and trochanteric ulcers. There were 87 complications in 421
flaps, which was an overall rate of 21%. Suture line dehiscence was the most
common complication with 27 cases (31%), followed by 22 cases of infection
(25.2%), 17 cases of hematoma (19.5%), 12 cases of partial necrosis (13.7%) and 9
cases of total flap necrosis (10.3%).Conclusion:Pressure ulcers in spinal
cord-injured patients are very common and difficult and expensive to treat. The
high rate of complications and the associated costs suggest the importance of
evaluating the efficacy of treatment options. Conservative procedures have been
standardized, but there still has been limited success in establishing guidelines
on how to manage complications arising from flap surgery. Our extensive
documentation of flap plastics will be useful managing complications after the
surgical treatment of pressure ulcers in spinal cord-injured patients.

Langue : ANGLAIS