Medial canthal reconstruction with glabellar combined Rintala flaps

In medial canthal reconstruction, the continuity of color and texture and the reproduction of natural external appearance are required, and reconstruction with a flap adjacent to the defect is frequently performed as the first choice. The authors have performed reconstruction with a glabellar flap combined with a Rintala flap in five patients.

A glabellar flap, which is rectangular according to the unit principle, was elevated, and after thinning and trimming to the defect shape, was transferred to the medial canthal defect. The donor site of the glabellar flap was closed with a Rintala flap.

Reconstruction by means of this procedure was performed in five patients with defects after resection of medial canthal basal cell carcinoma. In one patient with extension of the defect to the upper and lower eyelids, the tip of the glabellar flap was divided into two portions and transferred to the defective site. No recurrence was observed in any patient, and satisfactory results including aesthetic results were obtained in all patients.

This technique can be performed readily and is applicable to the reconstruction of relatively large defects and is also aesthetically excellent because of a postoperative suture line that is consistent with the topographic curve. This technique may be useful for medial canthal reconstruction.