The preauricular site for donor grafts of skin: advantages, disadvantages, and caveats

Several donor sites may be considered to obtain grafts for large defects on the nose. Preauricular skin is excellent for small and large grafts for nasal reconstructions, but the facial nerve is at risk of injury from operations in this site. A case is described in which reconstruction of the nose after ablation of an extensive recurrent basal-cell carcinoma required the taking of a large graft of preauricular skin and in which complications ensued. These complications happily resolved, in part spontaneously and in part by practice of judicious conservative measures. The final result was gratifying.