Rotational V-Y Fasciocutaneous Advancement Island Flap to Cover Deep Sacrococcygeal Defects due to Pilonidal Disease, Pressure Ulcers, and Other Inflammatory Conditions

Abstract

The sacrococcygeal area supports the lower body and endures mechanical forces during movement. However, current treatment methods for deep caudal sacrococcygeal defects have limitations, resulting in insufficient tissue for deep pocket obliteration and considering only the two-dimensional advancement plane in a three-dimensional defect topology. Our study proposes using a rotational V-Y fasciocutaneous advancement island flap to reconstruct deep caudal sacrococcygeal defects. By considering the three-dimensional nature of the defect, we distinguish a coccygeal plane of the V-Y flap from a sacral plane and set different directions and depths of movement for each plane. From March 2016 to July 2022, 12 patients underwent successful treatment with this surgery, and no complications or recurrences were observed in the study group. Our research found that patients in our study exhibited a smaller intercoccygeal angle than the average angle of the general Korean population, as previously reported. This implies a more pronounced curvature between the sacral and coccygeal planes. Therefore, our methods, which consider the three-dimensional structures of sacrococcygeal pathology, are significant. This technique provides a mechanically robust reconstruction after resecting deep sacrococcygeal pathology, with well-padded tissue to prevent dead space and wound disruption.