The Rectus Femoris Flap for Groin Reconstruction

The rectus femoris muscle is an important but expendable knee extensor. It is a bipennate muscle with a dense and strong fascia on its undersurface. This feature makes it extremely attractive for the repair of defects of the lower abdominal wall and groin as a pedicled flap. It is centrally located between the vastus medialis and vastus lateralis muscles. It is generally used as a pedicled muscle and usually taken as a muscle flap without a skin paddle. The muscle is then grafted. Following harvest, the extensor tendons need to be centralized and repaired for a distance of 6–8 cm above the knee. In many situations this flap has been superseded by the ALT flap.