Perforator propeller flap for cutaneous coverage of the knee

Previous pedicled techniques for coverage of the knee use muscular flaps and/or local fascio-cutaneous flaps limited to rotate until 90° on their cutaneous base. Freestyle perforator flaps match the patient's anatomy to fill a defect. Propeller perforator flaps have been used to treat three patients presenting with a skin loss over the knee. The surgery is based on the Echo-Doppler tracing the good perforator vessels around the wound. We performed two supero-medial flaps with a self-closing donor site and one supero-lateral flap where a graft was needed. All the patients healed in less than six weeks, with satisfying functional and esthetical results. We think freestyle perforator flaps are a reliable and predictable technique with a low morbidity rate and they are well adapted to cover skin defects over the knee.