Walking-stalk skin flap

Four drawings illustrating the first tubed pedicle flap of Vladimir Filatov, 1916

A walking-stalk skin flap or waltzing tube pedicle is a reconstructive technique in which the skin and soft tissue to be used for the flap is formed into a tubular pedicle and moved from the source to the target site by anchoring at both ends, periodically severing one end and anchoring it closer to the flap target site. As antibiotics had not yet been invented when this procedure was developed, wrapping the flap in a tube was important because the risk of infection was reduced. The technique was invented by Harold Gillies and developed by Archibald McIndoe for the treatment of battle injuries. Archibald Mcindoe was widely recognised for many of these techniques.

The technique is now largely redundant due to advances in vascular surgery and microsurgery.

Further reading

  • Klaas W. Marck; Roman Palyvoda; Andrew Bamji; Jan J van Wingerden (27 February 2017). "The tubed pedicle flap centennial: its concept, origin, rise and fall". European journal of plastic surgery. 40: 473–478. doi:10.1007/S00238-017-1289-8. ISSN 0930-343X. S2CID 33597272. Wikidata Q109924028.
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