OPINION FOR RECONSTRUCTION OF THE HEEL PAD

Abstract

The heel pad plays an important role in supporting upright stance and in normal gait. The common causes of heel defect include trauma, infection, vascular disease, and tumour extirpation. The relative paucity of expendable surrounding tissues and the special functional requirements of the heel pad, make the reconstruction very challenging. A few locoregional flaps have been described for small to moderate-sized defect. Large-sized defect commonly necessitates the use of free flaps. In terms of overall function, the medial plantar artery flap gives the best result but is limited by its size.