Background: Electrical burn injuries commonly occur in the extremities, especially wrist, forearms, and hand. In high-voltage burns, the injury associated with deep extension and underlying tissue damage, resulting ischemic tissue and eventually, higher possibility extensive necrotic tissue The importance of nonvital tissue debridement and adequate defect closure in electrical burn injuries determine the outcome of limb salvage.

Method:A case series of electric burn injury extremity with two stage of reconstructive surgery using groin flap. Author questioned clinically whether two-stages surgical method affect morbidity of electric burned patients and relation ship between type of harvesting flap (delayed and non-delayed groin flap) interferes flap vitality.

Result from PubMed, Burns Journal and Google™ search generated 53 articles. Screening articles based on inclusion criteria, exclusion criteria, and full text reading. Three remaining articles appraised in regard of validity, importance, and applicability.

Result: Time of reconstruction did not appear to affect flap survival and outcome. Fasciocutaneous flaps also relatively thin and, therefore ideal for coverage in regions with exposed tendon and bony structure. No evidence found from world literature whether type of flap harvesting will affect flap vitality.

Conclusion: The use of groin flap as distant pedicle flaps, provide alternative where in case of free flap reconstruction was not be able to do. The possibility of compromised does not related with timing of reconstruction surgery, since pathophysiology of vascular occlusion and progressive necrosis tissue in electric burn injury. Pliable characteristic for covering small cross sectional diameter anatomic region such as wrist is advantageous, however, due to bulkyness appearance, secondary reconstruction will be needed for thinning flap.

The Use of Groin Flap for Upper Extremity Coverage in Electric Burn Injury