Lessons learnt from an audit of 95 cases of major nasal reconstruction.
BACKGROUND
Several texts detail the possible complications of nasal reconstruction but few critically describe a series. We present an audit of the complications of 95 major nasal reconstructions.


METHODS
This is a retrospective analysis of 95 consecutive major nasal reconstructions (49 male, 46 female, aged between 4 and 92 years) over a 16-year period treated in a tertiary refer-ral centre.


RESULTS
Fifty-eight patients in our series required nasal reconstruction after Moh's Micrographic surgery for a morpheiform basal cell or a squamous cell carcinoma. Eight patients had further removal using frozen section to determine the margins, as the disease was very extensive. Minor procedures with local random flaps or full thickness skin grafts were excluded. Ninety-five patients underwent major reconstructive procedures and had an average of 2.8 operations.


CONCLUSIONS
The main problem was the suboptimal contouring of the alar margin in 6 of 54 patients who had a full thickness defect repaired. Other complications included telangectasia or hair growth requiring laser ablation (13), stenosis of the nasal valve area (2), ectropion after a cheek advancement flap, donor site haematoma of the pinna, and neuropathic pain.
Wild
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DC
Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Queens Medical Center, University Hospital, Nottingham, UK.
Munir
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N
Jones
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NS
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D005629:Frozen Sections; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008485:Medical Audit; D008875:Middle Aged; D015580:Mohs Surgery; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult