Arterial anatomy of anconeus muscle flap

Anconeus is a small muscle located in the elbow region. the muscle flap may be used as a pedicled flap for the reconstruction of defects of the same area. there are very few studies conducted on the flap anatomy of this muscle. in this study 15 formalin fixed cadavers were dissected under 4x loupe magnification. the arterial blood supply was found to be posterior recurrent interosseous artery. the mean diameter of the artery was 0.5 mm at the origin. the diameter was found to be too small for using the flap as a free flap. the localization of the pedicle was defined according to easy surgical landmarks. the mean distance of the origin from interepicondylar line and from the proximal tip of the olecranon was 73 mm and 28.9 mm respectively. the average length of the pedicle of the flap was found to be 8.5 mm. the localization of the point where the pedicle entered the muscle was calculated according to the distance from the interepicondylar line. the distance of the muscle entry point of the artery to the interepicondylar line was 65.2 mm (range 8 – 101 mm). it is concluded that although the pedicle is too small to be used as a free flap its constant anatomy makes the flap an ideal muscle flap for the reconstruction of defects of the elbow region.key words; anconeus flap, muscle flap, anatomy, elbow reconstruction, radioulnar joint reconstruction, radiocapitellar joint reconstruction