Fig. 1

A 63-year-old female with soft-tissue defect on the heel region. Intraoperative photo showing the wound has a lot of infected necrotic tissue with internal fixations and bone exposure (a). A distally based sural flap was designed to cover the defect after aggressive debridement (b). The flap survived completely after 2 weeks (c). At 10 years of follow-up, the aesthetic appearance (d) and ankle function were excellent (e, f). The patient was able to walk independently, without claudication or obstruction in daily life