While abnormalities of vascular anatomy in the forearm are common, variations of the
radial and ulnar arteries are rare. Nevertheless, arterial variants in the forearm
may complicate microvascular reconstructive surgery, such as harvest of radial or
ulnar artery- based forearm free flaps. For example, the superficial ulnar artery
has an incidence of 2.7% and has been well-described as a “trap” in the harvest of
radial forearm flaps. These authors presented a case report of a variant of the radial
artery – the superficial dorsal artery of the forearm. The artery has an estimated
incidence of 0.7 to 1% and is associated with either an absent or small-caliber rudimentary
radial artery. They discussed the clinical presentation and embryology of this structure,
as well as its clinical implications to the reconstructive microsurgeon.
