title: Resurfacing partial nose defects with a retroauricular skin/cartilage free flap.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The retroauricular skin has always received much attention by plastic surgeons for use in nose reconstruction because of its rich vascularity. Anatomically, the skin of this area lies hidden behind the ear and is very similar to that of the face. More importantly, the retroauricular skin flap along with the cartilage can be used to repair defective cartilage of the nose. All these reasons make this area an ideal donor site for nose reconstruction. This article presents the surgical procedures for reconstruction of partial nasal defects with the use of retroauricular skin/cartilage free flaps.
  
  
  METHODS
  Based on the anatomy and blood supply of the retroauricular region, a flap was designed and harvested with the retroauricular vessels as its pedicle. This flap was used to repair the partial nose defects in 10 patients, between the years 2002 and 2008. Of these, 4 patients presented with unilateral ala defects; 2 with nasal tip defects; 2 with defects on the nasal tip and bilateral ala; 1 with unilateral ala and tip defect; and 1 with unilateral ala and lateral defect. The size of the defect ranged from 2.5 × 1.5 cm to 4.0 × 3.0 cm. The flap varied between 3.0 × 2.0 cm and 4.5 × 3.5 cm. In all cases, the auricular cartilage of 1.5 × 1.0 cm to 1.0 × 0.5 cm was taken along with the flap. The retroauricular vessels were anastomosed with the facial vessels. The donor site was covered with full-thickness skin graft or local flap.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No flap failure was recorded. Excellent morphologic reconstruction was obtained with these flaps with no sequela at the donor site in terms of form and function. Postoperatively, the blood supply to the flaps was fairly good in 8 cases, although there was vein congestion in 2 cases on the fourth day. However, the postoperative results of the 10 cases were satisfactory after treatment.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The retroauricular skin-cartilage free flap is a good choice for partial nasal reconstruction, having the merits of a well-hidden donor site, good color match, and 1-stage operation for cartilage support and nose reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Xijing Hospital, Xi'an, China. yongpan@fmmu.edu.cn
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.forename: Yufeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ai
authors.forename: Gejia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.forename: Wensen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Hui
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D054644:Ear Auricle / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012225:Rhinoplasty / Q000379:methods*