Upper lip Basal cell carcinoma reconstruction based on anatomical characteristics using skin-mucosa double opposing...

Upper lip defects less than one-fourth of total upper lip length are typically closed directly, but larger defects require reconstruction. Established techniques, such as the Abbe/Estlander flap, often require multiple procedures. This report discusses a single-step method, involving a skin-mucosa double opposing V-Y advancement flap, which was utilized to reconstruct the upper lip after basal cell carcinoma extirpation.

The patient is a 54-year-old woman who presented with a 2.5-cm basal cell carcinoma in the right upper lip. Two parallel V-Y flaps were designed, on "parallel" planes of the skin and mucosa, and were advanced following wedge resection of tumor and portion of the adjacent orbicularis oris muscle. Skin/mucosa flap edges were brought to create a new skin-vermilion border, which was then sutured onto existing skin-vermilion border edges.

The patient was evaluated 6 months after the operation, and examination showed well-healed flaps with excellent aesthetic and functional results. There was a thin, marginal scar, where reconstructed vermilion (medial) edge was sutured to native vermilion.

It was considered that this method could reconstruct anatomical features and function of the lip precisely. It seems that within certain limits (probably between one-fourth and one-third of total upper lip length), skin-mucosa double opposing V-Y advancement flaps appear to be the preferred method for upper lip reconstruction.