[Plastic surgery using part of the epiploon. Prior vascularisation of the transplant on the dorsal surface of the hand (author's transl)].

The epiploon has proved to be excellent material for reconstructive surgery. The authors present a new technique by which the epiploon may be transplanted into almost any part of the body, using the hand as a vector. The epiploon is implanted beneath the skin covering the hand and acquires a new vascularisation. In a second phase, the epiploon is divided at the point at which it leaves the abdomen. The free epiploon, vascularised by the hand, may then be transplanted into a wide range of areas: head, leg, foot, etc. The epiploic flap formed in this way has many advantages over the Gilles-Filatov tubular skin flap.