Updates in Traumatic Lower Extremity Free Flap Reconstruction

What’s the latest in lower extremity traumatic free flap reconstruction? Lower extremity reconstruction particularly in the setting of trauma remains one of the most challenging tasks for the plastic surgeon. While advances in wound management and microsurgical techniques in conjunction with long-term outcomes studies have expanded possibilities for limb salvage, much of our management choice has continued to rely on principles set forth many decades ago by Gustilo and Godina in the 1980s. The purpose of this article was to provide a comprehensive update on the various management aspects of traumatic lower extremity microvascular reconstruction based on the latest evidence with an examination of recent publications.