PR51P THE TENSOR FASCIA LATA FLAP IN ABDOMINAL WALL RECONSTRUCTION

Introduction:   The closure of abdominal wall defect after tumour ablation can be a challenging problem. The component that requires reconstruction may only consist of skin or fascia; or it could consist of a combination of these. The pedicled tensor fascia lata flap is a useful option as it could be harvested as either a fascial or fasciocutaneous flap. When the size of the defect is significant, bilateral TFL flaps could be utilised. Methods and Results:   To illustrate the flexibility provided by the pedicled TFL flap in abdominal wall reconstruction, two cases are presented in which the nature of abdominal wall defect were different. The first patient had a large fascial defect in the lower abdominal wall and bilateral pedicled TFL fascial flaps were used for reconstruction. The second patient had a full thickness defect and the TFL was harvested as a fasciocutaneous flap for reconstruction. Both defects were repaired satisfactorily without herniation. Conclusion:   TFL is a versatile flap and should be the method of choice for lower abdominal wall reconstruction.