Designing Flaps for Closure of Circular and Semicircular Skin Defects.
Removing skin lesions from the human body is a simple procedure, but closing the resulting defect may prove a difficult task. The surgeon quite often encounters a problem when the lesion is located in a confined anatomical area where the elasticity of the skin is limited or when the lesion is large. To obviate these difficulties, I present 4 new incisions for closure of circular and semicircular skin defects on difficult parts of the human body such as the scalp, face, axilla, back, and sacrococcygeal areas. This article describes a working model made of white bond paper that can be enlarged or reduced in size using a regular copying machine that can be prepared in advance of surgery to make sure that it adapts to a particular anatomical location. Also, it describes a geometrical analysis in order to determine the distortion of the minimal tension lines of the skin, skin wastage, and length of the suture lines. In summary, it is possible to use a variety of skin incisions, taking advantage of the minimal tension lines of the skin and also taking into consideration the anatomical characteristics of the region involved.
Bogota, Colombia.
Alfredo
A
Alvarado