Kong Chee Kwan
University of Malaya, Malaysia
Title: Importance of recognizing aesthetic units when designing local flaps in facial lesions
Biography
Biography: Kong Chee Kwan
Abstract
The principle of facial aesthetic units is important in designing local flaps for facial reconstruction. Local flaps are routinely utilized for skin lesions that are too big to be closed primarily. The ideal local flap for reconstruction is the one that can be designed within the same aesthetic unit as that containing the lesion. Scars are best concealed by placing incisions along aesthetic margins. When a defect involves two or more aesthetic units, it is better to compartmentalize the reconstruction. Each skin flaps are planned to reconstruct the separate components of the defect that are located within separate aesthetic units. This may provide similarity of skin quality but, more essentially, places scars in the aesthetic margins. It is often beneficial to extend the primary defect by increasing the defect to an aesthetic margin or even to extend the defect to occupy an entire aesthetic unit. Reconstruction of the defect with a local flap will then position a border of the flap in an aesthetic unit for improved scar concealment.