Foot reconstruction is a surgery performed to correct the foot’s anatomy and restore function lost due to trauma, congenital disabilities, infection, and other illnesses.
Foot diseases may make parts of daily life difficult and frustrating. Severe foot conditions often require long-term care and rehabilitation. They may affect one’s mental health, personal and social life, making them dependent on others for physical and emotional support.
The foot is divided into four regions:
• Ankle
• Sole
• The upper surface (dorsum)
• Toes
Foot reconstruction considers tissue reconstruction, function restoration, cosmetic rehabilitation, and whether the foot can or should be saved by reconstructing.
The final choice of different reconstructive options relies on the disease’s extent and the surgeon’s preference.
Foot defects typically occur in six critical conditions:
Major injuries
Many foot injuries result from a motor vehicle or work-related accidents. The severity of such cases depends on how much tissue is damaged and whether the bones in the foot have been affected. Foot trauma is classified by severity as follows:
Type I: soft tissue loss less than three square centimeters
Type II: soft tissue loss greater than three square centimeters without bone involvement
Type III: significant tissue loss with bone involvement
Diseases of the foot
Vascular diseases (blood vessel-related): Destruction to the blood vessels; artery or vein leading to ulcers or tissue death and infection.
Metabolic diseases: Metabolic diseases like diabetes, gout, and alcoholism induce alteration of blood and nerve supply to the whole body causing painless, crater-like ulcers on the foot.
Tumors including:
• Melanomas
• Epitheliomas
• Sarcomas of the bone or soft tissues
Infection: Infected ulcers often are from trauma, vascular disease, or diabetes due to low tissue oxygenation of tissues
Malformation: Congenital disabilities such as the clubfoot or spina bifida.
• Small wounds with living soft tissue can be treated medically.
• Open wounds with dead soft tissue and or bone often require surgical debridement (removal of foreign bodies/ damaged/ infected/ dead tissue and bone from wounds).
• Once all dead tissue is removed, skin grafts or flaps may aid in wound healing.
• Depending on the depth of the defect and extent, the flap type is decided.
• Three kinds of flaps could be considered based on the use of skin, muscle, and bone during reconstruction:
○ Fasciocutaneous flap: tissue flaps that include skin and the underlying tissues
○ Musculocutaneous flap: includes skin, underlying tissue, fat, and muscle along with rich blood supply
○ Osteocutaneous flap: bone-containing flap with elements of skin, underlying tissue, and with blood supply
• Tendon transfers, tendon release, and tendon lengthening procedures are also performed to restore anatomy and function.
• Amputation may be required if reconstruction is not recommended or when a process can be improved using prosthetics.
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Disclaimer: The information provided was gathered from medical sources such as the Mayo Clinic, WebMD, The CDC, Kaiser Family Foundation, New England Journal of Medicine, The American Journal of Medicine, etc.
By reading this website, you acknowledge that you are responsible for your own health decisions. The information throughout this medical website is not intended to be taken as medical advice. The information provided is intended for general information regarding our Podiatry clinic in Brooklyn and the best Foot and Ankle Care Services. If you are interested in finding out more, avoid worrisome self-diagnosis, please contact our Podiatry specialist for a personal consultation. No information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent, or cure any disease or condition.