Abstract
Background To harvest any flap on the lateral circumflex femoral artery (LCFA) including tensor
fasciae latae (TFL) muscle, a precise description of the vascular anatomy is required.
There have been conflicting reports of the vascular supply of TFL and its overlying
skin. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anatomy of the TFL muscle according
to the location, origin, type, caliber, and length of vessels that supply the muscle.
Methods This study was performed on human cadavers (n = 16 thighs) that were injected with a mixture of lead oxide and gelatin through
the femoral artery. Whole body computed tomography scans were performed. Three-dimensional
images of the arterial anatomy were created using Materialise Interactive Medical
Image Control Software (MIMICS). Anatomical dissection of all cadaver thighs was performed
to visualize the arterial blood supply of the muscle and its regional perforators.
Results Sixteen thighs were included in the study. The main arterial supply of the TFL muscle
was in all cases, the ascending branch of the LCFA (LCFA-asc) artery. The mean external
diameter of the LCFA-asc artery was 2.7 mm ± 0.4 and the mean length was 3.6 cm ± 0.6.
The distance from the anterior superior iliac spine to point where the vascular pedicle
reaches the muscle ranged from 6.7 to 10.2 cm. The average number of cutaneous perforators
was 10.9 ± 4. There were musculocutaneous perforators in all of our dissections (n = 16) and 14 of our specimens had septocutaneous perforators.
Conclusion The main vascular supply to the TFL muscle is the ascending branch of the LCFA, which
also gives rise to septocutaneous and musculocutaneous perforators. MIMICS provides
excellent three-dimensional anatomical information about the vascular supply of the
TFL.
Keywords
TFL - perforator - flap - three-dimensional
