Using an Expanded Cervical Flap With an Overlapping Tissue Expansion Technique to Resurface Middle and Lower Facial...

Area of Science:

• Plastic Surgery
• Reconstructive Surgery

Background:

• Extensive facial burn scars present significant reconstructive challenges.
• Cervical flaps are ideal for facial resurfacing but often lack sufficient central length.
• The anterior neck's longitudinal soft tissue is crucial for maintaining neck function and shape.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate an expanded cervical flap technique using overlapping tissue expanders.
• To address the need for increased longitudinal tissue in the anterior neck for facial reconstruction.

Main Methods:

• Two overlapping tissue expanders were placed in the anterior neck.
• Expanders were inflated to achieve adequate tissue expansion.
• The expanded flap was dissected, rotated for facial defect repair, and anchored to restore the cervicomental angle.

Main Results:

• Sixteen patients with massive facial burns (135-185 cm²) underwent reconstruction.
• Flap areas ranged from 163-266 cm² after an average expansion of 89.5 days.
• Successful defect coverage, primary donor site closure, and good postoperative cervical form were achieved in all cases.

Conclusions:

• The overlapping tissue expansion technique for cervical flaps is a reliable method for facial skin reconstruction.
• This technique offers significant functional and aesthetic improvements for patients with facial defects.
• The method effectively addresses the limitations of standard cervical flaps in large-scale facial resurfacing.