A walking-stalk skin flap or waltzing tube pedicle is a reconstructive technique in which the skin and soft tissue to be used for the flap is formed into a tubular pedicle and moved from the source to the target site by anchoring at both ends, periodically severing one end anchoring it closer to the flap target site. As antibiotics had not yet been invented when this procedure was developed wrapping the flap in a tube was important because infection was reduced. The technique was invented by Harold Gillies

Harold Gillies

Sir Harold Delf Gillies was a New Zealand-born, and later London based, otolaryngologist who is widely considered as the father of plastic surgery.-Personal life:Gillies was born in Dunedin, New Zealand...

 and developed by Archibald McIndoe

Archibald McIndoe

Sir Archibald McIndoe CBE FRCS was a pioneering New Zealand plastic surgeon who worked for the Royal Air Force during World War II. He greatly improved the treatment and rehabilitation of badly burned aircrew.-Background:...

 for the treatment of battle injuries.

The technique is now largely redundant due to advances in vascular surgery

Vascular surgery

Vascular surgery is a specialty of surgery in which diseases of the vascular system, or arteries and veins, are managed by medical therapy, minimally-invasive catheter procedures, and surgical reconstruction. The specialty evolved from general and cardiac surgery...

 and microsurgery

Microsurgery

Microsurgery is a general term for surgery requiring an operating microscope. The most obvious developments have been procedures developed to allow anastomosis of successively smaller blood vessels and nerves which have allowed transfer of tissue from one part of the body to another and...

.