Microvasculature of the inferior gluteal flap

Summary

A free flap can be harvested leaving an inconspicuous donor site in the lower gluteal region. The different possibilities of free transplantation depend above all on the microvascular supply within the flap. We have prepared gluteal flaps in ten autopsies. The inferior gluteal artery was perfused with a solution of lead oxide and gelatin. After fixation in formaldehyde, the flaps were dissected in three layers and radiographs were taken. Larger branches of the inferior gluteal artery were found even in the superficial subcutaneous tissue. They give rise to smaller vessels which form a muscular, an epifascial and a subdermal subcutaneous network. The inferior gluteal flap is, thus, supplied in all three compartments by the inferior gluteal artery. The isolation of a free subcutaneous compartment as a free tissue transfer seems to be possible, and flap thinning is favored in the middle subcutaneous tissue.