The Hospital Universitario Son Llàtzer has performed its first microsurgical reconstruction of a lower limb to save the leg of a 58-year-old woman who was seriously injured in a road accident. The patient had suffered an open fracture of the tibia and fibula, along with extensive loss of skin and other tissues, injuries that put her at risk of amputation.
The multidisciplinary surgical team involved in the operation. Photo: CAIB.
The six-hour operation required the collaboration of specialists in Traumatology, Plastic Surgery and Anaesthesiology, alongside the nursing team from the Microsurgery Unit. The procedure represents a significant step forward for the hospital, which will now be able to undertake complex reconstructive surgery cases that previously had to be referred to other hospitals.
How the patient’s leg was reconstructed
The operation was carried out in several stages. First, the trauma surgeons stabilised the fracture by inserting an intramedullary nail into the tibia, a device that keeps the bone aligned during healing.
Plastic surgeons then reconstructed the leg using a muscle flap taken from the patient’s own back. This tissue was transferred to the injured area and connected to small blood vessels using microsurgical techniques. A second flap, which retained its original blood supply, was also used to cover an area near the knee.
This type of muscle tissue transplantation makes it possible to repair injuries where treating the fracture alone is insufficient because of the loss of skin and the tissues that protect the bones. In this case, the affected area was particularly extensive, making the procedure more complex.
Following the operation, the woman remained in Son Llàtzer for just under a month. The information provided by the hospital does not specify her subsequent progress or the extent to which she has regained function in the affected limb.
A technique that will allow complex cases to be treated without referral to other hospitals
The operation involved trauma surgeons Xisco Marín, Zaira Manteiga and Nacho Lasa, and plastic surgery specialists Elena Rodríguez Bauzà, Daniel Navarro, Pedro Quetglas and Emma Torres. The Anaesthesiology Department and nursing and healthcare assistant staff from the Microsurgery Unit also took part.
Coordination between the two surgical departments makes it possible to treat severe fractures and extensive tissue loss together. With the introduction of these techniques, Son Llàtzer will be able to care for patients who previously needed to be transferred to a specialist referral hospital, making treatment more accessible at their own healthcare centre.
Reconstructive microsurgery also has applications in other areas, including tissue repair following tumour removal, the treatment of burn injuries, certain types of breast reconstruction and other injuries requiring the restoration of large areas of tissue.
The hospital aims to strengthen collaboration between Traumatology and Plastic Surgery and gradually increase the number of procedures of this complexity that can be performed at its facilities.
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