Radial Forearm Flap

Abstract

In 1978, a fasciocutaneous free flap from the volar aspect of the forearm and pedicled on the radial artery was first used in China. When this so-called Chinese flap was originally described by Yang et al. in 1981 [440] and Song et al. in 1982 [360], both groups already had performed more than 100 successful flap transfers. Shortly thereafter, this technique was popularized by different European surgeons, who visited their colleagues in China. In 1981, Mühlbauer was the first to describe the advantages of the radial forearm flap in the European literature, especially its excellent pliability, thinness, the ease of flap raising, as well as the constant anatomy and the long and high-caliber vascular pedicle [271, 272]. Very soon, many authors favored this flap for reconstructions in the head and neck region and for intraoral lining. In a number of publications, Soutar and co-workers reported on different indications of the radial forearm flap for reconstructions of the oral cavity and the hand [362–365], and Cheng used this flap for tongue reconstruction [65]. Hatoko et al. and Chen et al. favored the forearm flap for defect coverages in the hard and soft palate and proposed this flap for the rehabilitation of the cleft lip and palate patient [62, 144].