Hair-bearing flaps in head and neck reconstructive surgery

Pedicled flaps of scalp are invaluable for reconstructing other hair-bearing regions about the head and neck. The flap is based on the posterior branch of the superficial temporal artery whose course is mapped out pre-operatively with Doppler. The flap is carefully measured and transferred, delayed after two weeks, and set in at three weeks. Complications were minimal in the authors' series of 22 cases.