title: Free concha flap for sensitive nasal reconstruction using the infraorbital artery and nerve as a recipient vessel and a recipient nerve.
abstract: Free auricular flap transplantation is one of the treatments for nasal reconstruction. This report presents a case of nasal reconstruction where the infraorbital artery was used as a recipient vessel, and the infraorbital nerve as a recipient sensory nerve. A 75-year-old female underwent resection of malignant melanoma of the right nasal ala. A free ear concha flap was used for the reconstruction. The facial artery could not be found intraoperatively; instead, the infraorbital artery was identified and anastomosed with the posterior auricular artery. The great auricular nerve was coapted with the infraorbital nerve. The results of the sensory examination were the same as those of the unaffected side. This procedure not only achieves a good aesthetic outcome, but also restores sufficient sensory function.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The University of Tokyo, School of Medicine, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan. sancho-ps@umin.ac.jp
authors.forename: Mitsunaga
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Narushima
authors.forename: Takuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Iida
authors.forename: Takafumi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kadono
authors.forename: Hisako
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hara
authors.forename: Yusuke
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yamamoto
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Todokoro
authors.forename: Makoto
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mihara
authors.forename: Isao
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Koshima
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D054644:Ear Auricle / Q000637:transplantation*; D005260:Female; D058752:Free Tissue Flaps / Q000098:blood supply / Q000294:innervation / Q000637:transplantation*; D006801:Humans; D008545:Melanoma / Q000601:surgery*; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D012225:Rhinoplasty / Q000379:methods*