Aesthetic Pubic Reconstruction After Electrical Burn Using a Portion of Hair-Bearing Expanded Free-Forehead Flap

Abstract

Electrical burn in the pubic region usually results in a severe and contractive scar with pubic hair loss. The aesthetic restoration of this area often has become very difficult. A 22-year-old male electrical engineer experienced severe pubic scarring with hair loss after electrical burn. He was treated successfully with an expanded free-forehead flap including a portion of hair-bearing scalp after microsurgical vascular anastomoses between the bilateral superficial temporal vessels and the bilateral deep inferior epigastric vessels. The donor forehead site was closed directly in the frontal hairline without visible scarring. The pubic area was repaired functionally and cosmetically with the flap, and the pubic hair was growing well after a 1-year following-up period. This successful case strongly indicates that a microsurgical tissue transfer can be a good option for reconstruction of a pubic defect and that the expanded forehead flap could fulfill the high cosmetic demands of pubic reconstruction with minimal donor morbidity.