Scarpa's adipofascial flap for repair of wide scalp defects

Scarpa's fascia is a prominent superficial fascial system of the body. It consists of a single membrane between the superficial fatty layer and deep fatty layer, and lies widely in the lower abdominal wall. We describe a case with a wide scalp defect resulting from a resection of a dermatofibrosarcoma, and reconstruction of the defect with Scarpa's adipofascial flap (i.e., a combined paraumbilical perforator-based adipofascial flap-groin adipofascial flap). The primary advantage of Scarpa's adipofascial flap for scalp defects is that (1) the donor site is most acceptable for a free flap with a minimal donor scar and minimal dysfunction; (2) even in cases in which large flaps are used, donor defects can be closed directly without skin grafting; (3) in the obese patient, this flap is preferable because of cosmetic improvement of the abdominal wall; (4) the donor area has so many perforators that an extended adipofascial flap can be obtained with a combination of these perforators; and (5) the flap may be nourished with one of several arteries, such as the superficial or deep inferior epigastric artery, or the superficial or deep circumflex iliac artery. The disadvantages of this flap are that the territory with a single artery may be smaller than a skin flap with the same artery and oversurfacing of the graft results in a poor cosmetic appearance. Scarpa's adipofascial flap is indicated when the defects are in an exposed area, especially in children, young patients, and females, and when this procedure is combined with a skin-expanding method in the secondary repair.