Reconstruction of oncologic nasal defects using the forehead flap: technical aspects and results

Abstract

Skin cancer frequently hits the nasal pyramid. Reconstruction of the nasal defects of the nasal pyramid after oncologic resection is challenging for plastic surgeons due to the anatomic complexity of the nose. The forehead flap is a pedicled flap used since antiquity in the reconstruction of nasal defects. We retrospectively reviewed the medical records of 30 patients operated for skin cancer of the nasal pyramid with reconstruction of the skin defect by forehead flap between the years 2008 and 2020. The mean age was 66.3. The sex ratio was 2.75. The tumor mean size of the tumor was 34 mm ranging between 19 and 50 mm. Twenty-nine patients required a second time surgery for flap severing and degreasing. The paramedian forehead flap was used in 20 cases, the “sea gull” flap in 5 cases, the inclined FF in 4 cases, and the island FF in 1 case. Surgical techniques of FF offer good aesthetic results with a lesser morbidity rate. Our retrospective report attests to the reliability of FF as the workhorse for the reconstruction of small and average nasal defects.