Abstract:

tion. Cancer surgery often involves excisions that lead to important anatomical defects. The reconstruction methods following an ablative surgery for head skin cancer are unique and require special attention for both shape and function. Utilisation of split-thickness or full-thickness skin grafts is indicated for face regions with minimal motion. Case presentations. We present four cases of skin cancer, who required a flap for the reconstruction of post-excision defects. The first case is of a 90-year-old male with a right preauricular squamous cell carcinoma. The remaining defect after tumour ablation was reconstructed with a full-thickness skin graft harvested from the arm. The second case is of a 45-year-old male with a malignant melanoma of the scalp. The defect on the scalp was also covered with a skin graft. The third case is of a 51-year-old diabetic woman with left nasal skin cell carcinoma. The defect left after excision was reconstructed with a nasolabial flap and a free cartilage graft harvested from the concha. The fourth case is of a 65-year-old male with a basal cell carcinoma of the nose. The aesthetic result at a distance, after nasolabial flap reconstruction, was very good. Conclusions. The nasolabial flap is reliable, plastic and perfectly suited to the one-step reconstruction of fascio-cutaneous material losses. Age does not affect the graft viability, but control of comorbidities, such as diabetes, are extremely important when using cartilaginous grafts. Keywords: flaps, skin graft, skin cancer.

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