title: Where to find facial artery perforators: a reference point.
abstract: Reconstructive surgery of the midface using facial artery perforator (FAP) flaps is being used more frequently now as it has been reported to provide better aesthetic results and reduce a traditional two-stage procedure to a one-stage technique. However, the wide acceptance of this approach is limited by a poor understanding of the anatomy associated with this technique. This was investigated through a cadaveric study. The facial artery (FA) of 16 cadaveric half-faces were each identified, cannulated with coloured latex and then dissected to give an accurate and quantified description of FA perforating branches. A lateral-view picture of each specimen was taken and analysed using ImageJ 1.42q. Cadaveric dissections showed that each hemiface could be regarded as a single entity. The values of the means were as follows: FA length=116±22 mm, FA diameter=2.62±0.74 mm, number of FAPs=4±2, FAP length=14.12±3.46 mm and FAP diameter=0.94±0.29 mm. A reference point, A, where FAPs were consistently found to originate, was also identified. Therefore, the FAP flap is a viable and valuable addition to plastic reconstructive techniques. The localisation of point A with precise measurements can facilitate the design and use of such FAP flaps for the reconstruction of nasal, as well as perinasal and perioral defects.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical and Life Sciences, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland G12 8QQ, UK.
authors.forename: Zhi Yang
authors.initials: ZY
authors.lastname: Ng
authors.forename: Quentin A
authors.initials: QA
authors.lastname: Fogg
authors.forename: Taimur
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shoaib
mesh_terms: D005145:Face / Q000601:surgery*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*