Two Adjacent Capillary Perforator Flaps? A Reconstruction of a Full-thickness Alar Defect.

Abstract

Summary:Any aspect of nasal reconstruction poses a worthy challenge for every plastic surgeon. Most skin tumors affect older patients who also happen to have surplus skin. This is certainly a blessing in disguise for the reconstructive surgeon, enabling the use of local flaps to reconstruct the lost skin, like with like. We present a simple case of full thickness alar and partial lateral nasal defect for malignant melanoma, and how we were fortunate to reconstruct the defect successfully in a single operation using two adjacent local capillary perforator flaps: one for inner lining and the other for outer lining. A touch-up was performed after 3 months for improved cosmesis. A successful reconstruction is displayed with a video showing key steps of the procedure and results before and after a simple touch-up correction for improved appearance. This is a case of successful reconstruction of a full-thickness alar defect using a combination of two adjacent capillary perforator flaps. It is the first case to our knowledge where this combination is applied and displayed in a video demonstration.