Abstract
OBJECTIVES: Plastic surgeons often harvest fascia from the upper thigh or gluteal area of the patient to transplant to other parts of the body. The thickness of the fascia differs depending on its position within the two areas. This anatomical study elucidates the positional variation fascia thickness presents within the two areas. METHODS: 21 upper thighs of 12 cadavers of Japanese persons were included in the study. The gluteal maximum muscle (GM), the iliotibial tract (IT), the biceps femoris muscle (BF), the vastus lateralis muscle (VL), and the rectus femoris muscle (RF) were identified. The thicknesses of the fascia were measured for each of these regions and were compared between the regions belonging to the same area. RESULTS: Gluteal Area: Fascia thickness presents no statistical differences between the GM and IT regions. Upper Thigh Area: The fascia is thickest in the IT region, followed by the BF region. The fascia is thin in the VL and RF regions. CONCLUSIONS: Fascia thicknesses present regional differences. The fascia of the gluteal area is evenly thick, with 1 mm thickness or more. Hence, the gluteal region is suited as a donor site for harvesting a large-sized, thick graft sheet. In the upper thigh area, the iliotibial tract region is the thickest, with thicknesses of 1 mm or more. The fascia is relatively thick in the posterior regions (0.5-0.6 mm), but thin in the anterior regions (0.2-0.3 mm).