Tibialis Anterior Muscle: Pedicled Bone Graft for Defect of the Tibia.

Purpose: To report the result of the bone graft retrograde pedicled with the tibialis anterior muscle belly for the treatment of bone defect of tibia. Methods: Between 2017 and 2020, the bone graft pedicled with the tibialis anterior muscle was applied for the treatment of 11 patients with a cortical defect and nonunion of the tibia due to trauma and one patient with segmental bone defect caused by tramatic osteomyelitis. The tibialis anterior has the largest muscle belly, but has not been commonly used due to functional disability following use as transposition muscle flap. New anatomic and clinical data confirm that the distal half of this group of muscles can be transposed with the tendon left intact with no noticeable loss of muscle function. Based on the vascular nutrition of this muscle, we performed a retrograde pedicled bone graft using the muscle belly, thus preserving the function of this muscle. Result: The operation was relatively simple and early bone unions have been achieved without any complications. Conclusion: The bone graft pedicled with the tibialis anterior muscle is useful for the treatment of bone defect of the tibia.