title: Tunneled and transposed island flaps in facial reconstructive surgery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Surgical wounds on the central face present reconstructive challenges given the aesthetic prominence of these visually important areas and a general lack of local tissue availability.
  
  
  METHODS
  Illustrative case examples demonstrate the potential clinical utility of nontraditional island flaps that are tunneled or transposed into operative defects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Aesthetically successful reconstruction of difficult facial wounds was accomplished with island flaps that used less traditional operative designs.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  When designed and executed properly, island flaps offer unrivaled opportunities to reconstruct the face with maximal preservation of central facial symmetry.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina.
authors.forename: Jonathan L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Cook
mesh_terms: D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D002921:Cicatrix / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D004428:Ear Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D004431:Ear, External / Q000601:surgery*; D004954:Esthetics; D005145:Face / Q000601:surgery*; D005153:Facial Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008046:Lip / Q000601:surgery; D015580:Mohs Surgery / Q000009:adverse effects; D009669:Nose Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012878:Skin Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D013524:Surgical Flaps