Kazuo Ikeda, Masaki Matsuda, Daisuke Yamauchi, and Katsuro Tomita
Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, School of Medicine, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan

This study documented the treatment of the inguinal dead space with chronic infection using musculocutaneous flaps. The average age of the patients (5 males and 2 females) was 50.0 years. Six cases of reconstruction after malignant tumor resection and one case after total hip arthoroplasty were treated. Six rectus abdominis flaps and 2 vastus lateralis flaps were used. Previous radiation therapy had been performed on five patients. The duration of chronic infection averaged 2.3 months, excluding a 4- year long case. All flaps survived and the average follow-up period was 2.8 years. Five cases had no relapse of the infection but two cases relapsed 18 months and 2 years respectively after the surgery. These two did not have tumor prostheses removed prior to the surgery.

Key words: deep infection; musculocutaneous flap; dead space