Endoscopic harvest of the medial gastrocnemius muscle flap: a cadaveric study

The aim of our study was to prove that endoscopic-assisted harvest of the medial gastrocnemius muscle is as effective as the conventional technique. We performed endoscopic dissection on 10 fresh human cadavers, and found that the medial gastrocnemius muscle was easily harvested through a minor donor-site incision, because of its topography and constant dominant proximal vascular pedicle. The operative technique is described. (C) 2002 The British Association of Plastic Surgeons