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Reconstruction of a full-thickness alar wound with a single operative procedure
1Duke University Medical Center, Box 3915, Durham, NC 27710, USA. jonathan.cook@duke.edu
Background:
The reconstruction of full-thickness alar wounds often requires multiple challenging surgical procedures. These procedures, although often functionally and aesthetically successful, are often staged, and they therefore introduce operative risks, significant investments of surgeon and patient time, and extraordinary costs.
Objective:
A turnover nasolabial flap can offer a one-step repair of difficult full-thickness alar wounds. A thorough explanation of the flap's design and execution is presented. An understanding of these factors is required to achieve predictably reliable operative results.
Methods:
A case report and review are given.
Results:
The turnover nasolabial flap can produce aesthetic and functional results that rival the most sophisticated pedicled flap reconstructions of the lateral ala.
Conclusion:
In distinction to the multiple operative procedures required to replace the missing tissues of the complicated ala, this turnover flap offers a one-step elegant repair of the nose. The flap belongs in the repertoire of any dermatologic surgeon interested in facial reconstruction.