Rotation flaps to reconstruct nasal tip defects following Mohs surgery.

BACKGROUND

Skin cancer involving the nasal tip is fairly common. The repair of these nasal tip defects is often a challenging opportunity. The current range of reconstructive techniques include partial closure and second intention healing to skin grafts and midline forehead flaps.

OBJECTIVE

Here we present an interesting method of nasal tip repair harvesting a rotation flap that uses adjacent skin from lateral and upper bridge of nose.

METHODS

Using three case studies examples of the rotation flap are demonstrated to reconstruct the nasal tip defects following Mohs surgery for skin cancer.

RESULTS

For medium size defects of up to 1 cm in diameter, rotation flaps offer an alternative surgical one-stage method of reconstruction of the nasal tip in selected cases.

CONCLUSION

Satisfactory results can often be achieved with a modest amount of planning, intra-, and postoperative care. Rotation flaps possess a circular configuration that allow recapitulation of the natural creases and contours of nasal tip anatomy resulting in aesthetic repairs.