title: Posterior auricular perichondrial cutaneous graft combined with cartilage strip in nostril reconstruction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Reconstruction of alar structures of the nose remains difficult. The result has to be not only functional but also aesthetic. Different solutions to reconstruct alar defects are feasible. A good result that meets the specific demands on stability, aesthetics, and stable architecture without shrinkage of the area is not easily achieved.
  
  
  METHODS
  A perichondrial cutaneous graft (PCCG), a graft consisting of a perichondral layer, fatty tissue, and skin that is harvested retroauriculary, is combined with an attached cartilage strip.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 72-year-old patient suffering from basal cell carcinoma of the ala of the nose underwent the reconstructive procedure with a good result in 1 year in terms of stability, color match, and graft take.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  First, a strip of cartilage had been included in a PCCG where tumor resection required sacrifice of more than 50% of the alar rim. The case shows that one can consider a cartilage strip-enhanced PCCG graft to reconstruct alar defects.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Dominik W
authors.initials: DW
authors.lastname: Schmid
authors.forename: Pietro G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Di Summa
authors.forename: Reto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wettstein
authors.forename: Paolo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Erba
authors.forename: Raffoul
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wassim
authors.forename: Daniel F
authors.initials: DF
authors.lastname: Kalbermatten