Simultaneous Cheek and Lower Eyelid Reconstruction With Combinations of Local Flaps

Abstract

Cheek defects are common facial defects, especially after tumor ablation. Although primary repair yields the best aesthetic outcome, wide defects require flap resurfacing. Among the flap techniques, the cervicofacial rotation/advancement flap is one of the most common. In cases with eyelid involvement, it is very unlikely that a local flap would single-handedly resurface the defect and additional flaps must be used. This article presents our clinical experience with 14 patients with cheek defects for whom cervicofacial rotation/advancement flaps were used. In 3 of the 14 patients, local flaps that include the laterally based Tripier flap, the Fricke flap, the nasojugal flap, and the median forehead flap were combined with the cervicofacial flap to reconstruct the lower eyelid defects in accordance with the principle of individually reconstructing different anatomic subunits. All infraorbital defects were resurfaced with residual cheek and cervical skin with a good color and texture match. In patients whose eyelids were intact, no malposition was observed. Posteriorly based cervicofacial rotation/advancement flaps offer a very reliable and convenient method for resurfacing infraorbital and medial cheek defects. When a lower eyelid defect is also present, its individual reconstruction as a separate facial subunit needs to be considered using a combination of smaller local flaps.