Abstract: Objective　To explore the clinical application of low skin paddle pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap in repairing deep soft tissue defects of the shoulder, back or upper limb. Methods　From Dec. 2017 to Jun. 2021, 10 patients were enrolled. The defects were located in the shoulder (n=3), back (n=5) and upper limb(n=2), and were all repaired by the low skin paddle pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap. The myocutaneous flaps were harvested at the outer-lower margin of latissimus dorsi muscle. The donor sites were sutured directly or repaired by skin graft. Results　Eight flaps survived completely, two had partial necrosis. The donor flap incision healed well and the graft skin survived. Follow-up observation showed that the appearance of skin flap area was satisfactory in 8 cases and poor in 2 cases. Postoperative shoulder function did not affect daily life. Conclusion　Low skin paddle pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap can achieve satisfactory outcome for repairing the deep soft tissue defect in the shoulder, back or upper limb. It can preserve most of the function of shoulder and is worth of recommendation.

Key words: Low skin paddle pedicled latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap, 　Soft tissue defect, 　Shoulder, 　Back, 　Upper limb