title: Z-plasty made simple.
abstract: A Z-plasty is a critical and reliable technique that is useful for scar revisions and correction of free margin distortion. A Z-plasty can help lengthen a contracted scar, change the direction of a scar so that it is better aligned with the relaxed skin tension lines, or interrupt and break a scar for better camouflage. This article will review the technique of a basic Z-plasty as well as provide case examples of its use in free margin distortion and scar revision.
authors.affiliation: Section of Dermatologic Surgery and Cutaneous Oncology, Department of Dermatology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
authors.forename: Sumaira Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Aasi