A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report

<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The lateral arm flap has been a very useful choice for the reconstruction of small to medium-sized defects, such as in the hands, extremities, and oral head and neck area. Its versatile characteristics and surgical feasibility allow this flap to be widel...

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Main Authors: Soyeon Jung, Seungjun Lee, Seokchan Eun
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2024-12-01
Series:Medicina
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/12/2082
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author Soyeon Jung
Seungjun Lee
Seokchan Eun
author_facet Soyeon Jung
Seungjun Lee
Seokchan Eun
author_sort Soyeon Jung
collection DOAJ
description <i>Background and Objectives</i>: The lateral arm flap has been a very useful choice for the reconstruction of small to medium-sized defects, such as in the hands, extremities, and oral head and neck area. Its versatile characteristics and surgical feasibility allow this flap to be widely applied, but its reconstructive potential in the facial subunit after tumor ablation procedures has never been reported. In this study, we aimed to utilize the advantages of this flap to carry out facial temple subunit defect reconstruction. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: Between 2020 and 2023, 12 patients underwent temple reconstruction with lateral arm free flaps after wide malignant tumor excisions. There were seven women and five men, and the mean patient age was 60.6 years. Among the patients with cancer, six had squamous cell carcinoma, five had basal cell carcinoma, and one had myxofibrosarcoma. All flaps were elevated under general anesthesia. Alprostadil (PGE1, Eglandin<sup>®</sup>, Mitsubishi Tanabe Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea) was administered postoperatively. <i>Results</i>: All flaps were the fasciocutaneous type, with sizes that varied from 3 cm × 4 cm to 5 cm × 7 cm (average size: 22.7 cm<sup>2</sup>). The average pedicle length was 6.1 cm. The versatility of the lateral arm flap enabled successful coverage in all cases, with no specific complications. Good functional outcomes and good ranges of motion in the donor arms were observed after surgery. <i>Conclusions</i>: The authors successfully verified the advantages of lateral arm flaps in the treatment of medium-sized facial temple subunit defects.
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spelling doaj-art-dfa979e224c24117aea3234847765bc62024-12-27T14:39:05ZengMDPI AGMedicina1010-660X1648-91442024-12-016012208210.3390/medicina60122082A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case ReportSoyeon Jung0Seungjun Lee1Seokchan Eun2Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hallym University Dongtan Sacred Heart Hospital, Hallym University College of Medicine, Hwaseong 18450, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam 13620, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seongnam 13620, Republic of Korea<i>Background and Objectives</i>: The lateral arm flap has been a very useful choice for the reconstruction of small to medium-sized defects, such as in the hands, extremities, and oral head and neck area. Its versatile characteristics and surgical feasibility allow this flap to be widely applied, but its reconstructive potential in the facial subunit after tumor ablation procedures has never been reported. In this study, we aimed to utilize the advantages of this flap to carry out facial temple subunit defect reconstruction. <i>Materials and Methods</i>: Between 2020 and 2023, 12 patients underwent temple reconstruction with lateral arm free flaps after wide malignant tumor excisions. There were seven women and five men, and the mean patient age was 60.6 years. Among the patients with cancer, six had squamous cell carcinoma, five had basal cell carcinoma, and one had myxofibrosarcoma. All flaps were elevated under general anesthesia. Alprostadil (PGE1, Eglandin<sup>®</sup>, Mitsubishi Tanabe Korea, Seoul, Republic of Korea) was administered postoperatively. <i>Results</i>: All flaps were the fasciocutaneous type, with sizes that varied from 3 cm × 4 cm to 5 cm × 7 cm (average size: 22.7 cm<sup>2</sup>). The average pedicle length was 6.1 cm. The versatility of the lateral arm flap enabled successful coverage in all cases, with no specific complications. Good functional outcomes and good ranges of motion in the donor arms were observed after surgery. <i>Conclusions</i>: The authors successfully verified the advantages of lateral arm flaps in the treatment of medium-sized facial temple subunit defects.https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/12/2082free flaplateral arm flapface defectstempleskin cancer
spellingShingle Soyeon Jung
Seungjun Lee
Seokchan Eun
A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report
Medicina
free flap
lateral arm flap
face defects
temple
skin cancer
title A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report
title_full A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report
title_fullStr A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report
title_full_unstemmed A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report
title_short A Novel Reconstruction Approach After Skin Cancer Ablation Using Lateral Arm Free Flap: A Serial Case Report
title_sort novel reconstruction approach after skin cancer ablation using lateral arm free flap a serial case report
topic free flap
lateral arm flap
face defects
temple
skin cancer
url https://www.mdpi.com/1648-9144/60/12/2082
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