ABSTRACT
The latissimus dorsi flap was described by Tansini as the first pedicled musculocutaneous flap in 1896. It was used for reconstruction of a post-mastectomy defect in 1912 by D’Este, and the first utilisation in the reconstruction of a head and neck defect was reported by Quillen in 1978. Shortly thereafter, in 1979, Watson et al. reported the first successful microvascular transfer of a free latissimus dorsi flap and exploited a wide variety of applications. The latissimus dorsi has several indications in the head and neck region as a pedicled or as a free micro-vascular flap. The major advantage of the latissimus dorsi flap is the predictable vascular anatomy with long and high-calibre vessels, which are rarely affected by atherosclerosis. The latissimus dorsi muscle is a planar muscle that originates from the lower thoracic, lumbar and sacral vertebrae and the iliac crest, and inserts into the crista tuberculi minoris humeri of the humerus.
