Authors: A M Skaria
Publish Date: 2014/04/23
Volume: 272, Issue: 5, Pages: 1231-1237
Abstract
Local skin flaps can be divided into two types random flaps and axial flaps An axial flap is defined as a flap containing a named artery in its pedicle For the paramedian forehead flap PMFF a lot of surgeons insist on the point that the pedicle must contain the supratrochlear artery To demonstrate that median forehead flaps MFF need not contain a named artery we selected first 8 patients with a PMFF and further 12 patients who had undergone reconstructive surgery using a MFF After division we analysed the pedicle of the flap histologically and measured the diameter of the arteries or arterioles and compared them to anatomical descriptions of the frontal arteries In none of the 12 cases could we find a functional artery of approximately 1 mm in diameter that could correspond to the supratrochlear artery The MFF is an axial flap but not in accordance with the current definition of this term In contrast to published literature we show that only in a part of cases a named artery was present in the pedicle Despite this fact the MFF is a secure flap for full thickness defect repair on the nose
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