title: Transoral Cross-Lip (Abbé-Estlander) Flap as a Viable and Effective Reconstructive Option in Middle Lower Lip Defect Reconstruction.
abstract: TheAbbé-Estlanderflap surgery is a cross-lip procedure that is valuable in repairing a defect on the lower lip using a full-thickness flap, consisting of the skin, muscle and mucosa, from the upper lip. As usefulness and practicality of the flap in reconstruction of lower lip surgical defects in Asian ethnicity have not been documented, the authors present a case of successful lower lip reconstruction with a staged,Abbé-Estlanderlip switching flap with commissuroplasty as an illustrative example. A 71-year-old male has presented with an ulcerating lip nodule in the middle one third of the lower lip, measuring about 1.5×2 cm across its long and short axes. Wide excision of the tumor was followed by delineation of the triangularAbbé-Estlanderflap from the upper lip, in which the medial hinge point of the base was chosen as the pedicle. Then, the flap elevation was carried out from the lateral commissure and then was transferred into the lower lip defect. Three weeks later, commissuroplasty was performed to correct the rounding at the new commissure. The patient is currently performing his daily activities with no apparent compromise inorbicularis orisstrength or oral continence. Given the size of the primary defect and the flap-to-defect ratio of size, the degree of microstomia was acceptable. Even with other myriad of reconstructive options at surgeons' disposal, theAbbé-Estlanderlip-switching flap is a reliable, and less morbid method of lower lip reconstruction for Asian surgical candidates. The authors illustrate an exemplary case in which a relatively large lower lip defect was successfully repaired using an upper lip flap of a significantly smaller size in an Asian subject of advanced age, without any remarkable long term sequelae which have traditionally been associated with the trans-oral lip switching flap technique.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Hahn
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Jee
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Young
authors.initials: JY
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Young Bok
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Jin Wou
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Soo
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Yu
keywords: Abbé flap; Asians; Lip cancer; Microstomia; Transoral lip switching