THE CUTANEOUS ADVANCEMENT FLAP FOR REPAIRING EAR RIM DEFECTS

BACKGROUND. Due to the ear's complicated anatomy and closely adherent anterior skin, repairing ear rim defects is often difficult. OBJECTIVE . We describe a simple postauricular cutaneous advancement flap for co rrecting ear rim defects of varying sizes. METHODS. Skin tumors involv ing the ear rims of 12 patients were excised. A postauricular cutaneou s advancement flap was designed to correct the resulting defects. RESU LTS. The postauricular cutaneous advancement flap provided excellent c osmetic results in our 12 patients. Minimal superficial necrosis of th e flap was observed in one patient. CONCLUSION. Utilizing relatively l oose postauricular skin, this postauricular advancement flap can cover helical rim defects of varying sizes with excellent cosmetic results and low complication rates.