Repair of cervical scar contracture using expanded skin flap from medial upper arm

Abstract

Objective To investigate the blood supply of the expanded skin flap from medial up-per arm and its application in the reparation of cervical scar contracture due to sear resection. Methods The operation was carried out for three steps: (1) The expander was implanted under the superficial fascia. (2) The skin flap from medial upper arm was created with superior ulnar collateral artery as blood supply and attributive branches of basilica and axillary veins as blood collection. (3) After thes car contracture was released, the defect was covered with medial upper arm flap with maximal area of 25 cm×15 cm. Results Ten patients in all with cervical scar contracture were treated with the skin flap. All the skin flaps survived at last with nearly normal skin color, texture and contour. And the scar in donor sites seemed to be neglectable. Conclusions Reparation of cervical scar contracture with medial upper arm skin flap after expanding could be recommended. But 3 months long time and fixation of upper limb and head might be disadvantages. Key words: Medial upper arm expander skin flap; Cervical scar contracture; Expander