THE SLIDING DOOR FLAP FOR REPAIR OF VERMILION DEFECTS

The sliding door flap raised on the surface of the vermilion to the or al mucosa has been used for reconstruction of soft-tissue defects of t he lower lip. The blood supply to this flap comes from the bilateral i nferior labial artery. Utilizing both sides of the arteries, bilateral flaps allow for safe and easy transfer of the vermilion tissue to par tial defects of the red lip. These flaps have been used in cases of lo wer lip defects with complete survival. The sliding door flap has incr eased mobility by at least 1 cm more than by the other style of flap r eported by Goldstein. Moreover, this flap contributes to excellent cos metic results. Our technique and clinical experiences are presented.