[Flap-plasty of the face].
While facial and craniofacial deformities and facial trauma comprise considerable amounts of bony surgery, the treatment of facial skin tumours requires essentially different approaches and skills of soft tissue surgery of the surface. Although the specialty of maxillofacial surgery developed during the World Wars in Europe, soft tissue reconstruction of the face has been greatly refined since then. A table of ten reconstructive principles is further elucidated in the text followed by 17 clinical examples, from the scalp to various areas of the face to the lips. As aesthetics play a dominant role in facial reconstruction, local flaps are the first choice, while pedicled flaps from the chest or microvascular free flaps are only considered for otherwise too-large defects. Only very few exceptions exist to this rule. Facial skin tumours show a great variety of size and localization and resulting excisional defects may confront the surgeon with individual problems. Only when we master a great variety of reconstructive methods for all such sizes and combinations of defects can we excise malignant tumours with sufficiently wide, clear margins without hesitations or compromise.
von Domarus
H
H
Klinik für Kiefer- und Gesichtschirurgie, Medizinische Universität zu Lübeck, Deutschland.
D005153:Facial Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008866:Microsurgery; D011379:Prognosis; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013536:Suture Techniques