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Background There have been significant advancements in lower extremity reconstruction over the last several decades, and the plastic surgeon's armamentarium has grown to include free muscle and fasciocutaneous flaps along with local perforator and propeller flaps. While we have found a use for a variety of techniques for lower extremity reconstruction, the free gracilis has been our workhorse flap due to the ease of harvest, reliability, and low donor site morbidity.

Methods This is a retrospective review of a single surgeon's series of free gracilis flaps utilized for lower extremity reconstruction. Demographic information, comorbidities, outcomes, and secondary procedures were analyzed.

Results We identified 24 free gracilis flaps. The duration from injury to free flap coverage was ≤ 7 days in 6 patients, 8–30 days in 11 patients, 31–90 days in 4 patients, and > 90 days in 3 patients. There were 22 (92 …