04/16/2026
This patient in his 40’s with a history of chronic left knee periprosthetic infection was referred to me by one of my orthopedic colleagues as he was at high risk of amputation. He unfortunately had a long history of multiple knee replacement surgeries and revisions, which resulted in scar tissue, making the skin around his knee thin and tight. He had recently had his knee hardware removed and replaced with an antibiotic spacer, but was at high risk for failure of another knee replacement due to the thin, tight skin around his knee.
In patients with a history of knee replacement surgery complications and a higher risk of complications we are able to add extra skin and soft tissue around the knee (in the form of a flap) prior to knee replacement surgery to reduce the risk of these complications.
For this patient, I performed a prophylactic free flap using skin and soft tissue from the thigh of his other leg to resurface the tissue around his knee prior to his next knee replacement surgery. After healing from his flap, he went on to have his knee replacement surgery without complications and has gotten back to walking and resuming his normal life!
I appreciate the collaboration of my orthopedic colleagues as part an OrthoPlastic Surgery Team in restoring both form and function!
This patient of mine has given informed consent to post and share their photos and story to promote awareness of options in reconstruction. These photos are not authorized for use by any other party.