Critical analysis of the Limberg flap

Limberg flap is a very popular and useful flap design for management of small to medium defects, especially on the face, head, and neck, as well as trunk, gluteal and sacral area. Its predictability and simple design make it a handy flap for wound closure and achieving satisfactory results for both the surgeon and the patient. The nuances, basic concepts and principles behind this flap are yet not understood by many operating surgeons. It is done easily, but without understanding what is the basis of this flap, leading to misuse of the Limberg’s flap. The paper is an attempt to critically analyse the Limberg flap on the basis of available literature and bring together the basic tenets, fundamentals and nuances of its wonderful design. The available articles in the English language regarding the Limberg flap were searched using relevant keywords in PubMed and Google Scholar. A total of 289 articles appeared in the search. After scrutinizing for content regarding the fundamentals, principles and nuances of the Limberg flap, 17 articles were selected for review. The results obtained and conclusions drawn should lead to a better understanding of the Limberg flap, even for beginners, and help in better planning and execution of the flap.