BILOBED FLAP IN FACIAL RECONSTRUCTION

The bilobed flap was first described by Esser in 1918. He used it to reconstruct the defects of the nose. It has been used in the reconstructions of trunk and feet defects by many authors since then. Its principle is also advantageous in reconstructions of larger facial defects. Successful reconstruction of problematic suborbital area using the bilobed flap was reported by Yenidunya in 2007. The design of the flap can be successfully used in other atypical facial defects.

The bilobed flap was used to cover facial defects of 199 patients who underwent 203 tissue reconstructions from 1st January 2007 to 31st December 2016 at the Department of Plastic and Aesthetic Surgery St. Anne´s University Hospital in Brno.

The flaps were equally distributed between the genders, men 101 and women 98. Ages of patients ranged from 39 to 98 years (mean 76 years). It was used in the reconstruction of the tip and alars defects of the nose 159 times, in the reconstruction of periorbital defects 16 times and in other atypical facial areas 28 times. The excision of malignant tumours of the face (basal cell carcinoma, squamous cell carcinoma, SSM) were usually the causes of the defects (89.7%). There were 80 cases with defects of the nasal tip and ala in men and 79 cases in women. Complications occurred 41 times of all reconstructions (20.2%). The most common complication was abundance of the flap (4.9%). The postoperative results were favourable due to the preservation of colour, texture and function of the reconstructed areas.

Bilobed flap in different modifications should always be considered in the reconstruction of extensive defects of the face, because unlike other techniques, it preserves good texture and colour of facial skin with minimal donor site morbidity.