Anatomy of anteromedial thigh perforators: CT-angiography study

The anatomy of perforator for anteromedial thigh (AMT) flap is a very much-debated issue. In this article, we report AMT perforator vascular anatomy by CT-Angiography (CTA) evaluation of 68 consecutive healthy thighs. Perforators emergence, caliber, length, course, and source vessel in the central three fifth of the thigh were studied by a virtual coordinate system. A mean 4.94\u2009\ub1\u20091.75 perforators per thigh (average length, 2.6\u2009\ub1\u20090.99 cm) from superficial femoral artery (SFA) were found, emerging medial and lateral to sartorius muscle. A mean 0.4\u2009\ub1\u20090.74 perforators per thigh (average length, 2.45\u2009\ub1\u20090.97 cm) branched from rectus femoris artery, of which 80% were emerging lateral to sartorius muscle. A mean 0.62\u2009\ub1\u20090.91 perforators per thigh (average length, 3.1\u2009\ub1\u20091.23 cm) branched from an unnamed branch of SFA, of which 88% were emerging lateral to the sartorius muscle. Perforators' calibre was inferior to 1-5 mm in 177 perforators (51.6%), between 1.5 and 2 mm in 159 (46.7%), and over 2 mm in 7 (2%). The findings from this study show that AMT region is plenty of reliable perforators with overlapping fascial emergence but branching from three different source arteries. \ua9 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microsurgery, 2014