The pivot point in transposition flap planning: concept and surgical implications

Excerpt

It was recently demonstrated that rotation flaps are curvilinear advancement flaps and do not rotate [1]. Transposition flaps, however, are flaps that do rotate on the surface plane of the body. The verb “transpose” means to change something from one position to another, or to exchange the positions of two things. In a surgical context, it means that the position of tissue is changed by an operative procedure (nerve transposition, vessel transposition, skin transposition). The term “transposition” was used as early as 1855 by Denucé, as a general term for local skin transfer (“transfer” being the currently preferred term) [2]. The term “transposition flap,” to describe a skin flap that rotates around a pivot point in the base of the skin pedicle to close an adjacent skin defect, became popular in the 1970s. …