Reconstruction of Large Cheek Defect With/Without Sideburn Using Malar-Posterior Auricular-Cervico Flap

The cheek region is the most common site for malignant tumor occurrence and the treatment of malignant skin tumor requires extensive local excision. Many previous reports have covered methods of reconstruction using local flaps for skin defects in the cheek region.In this article, we describe our experience with a surgical reconstruction using a new flap method for 8 patients with missing tissue in the cheek region. This flap is based on the concept of separately designing the flap with the 3 areas comprising the malar, posterior auricular, and cervical regions. We named the flap containing these 3 regions the malar-posterior auricular-cervico flap. Esthetically satisfactory outcomes were achieved in all cases.In conclusion, we recommend our malar-posterior auricular-cervico flap to reconstruct the tissue defects of approximately 20 to 40 cm after tumor excision in the cheek region. If preauricular skin is included in the design of this flap, the sideburn can be reconstructed using a part of the nape region with hair.