Retroauricular pull-through island flap for defect closure of auricular scapha defects - a safe one-stage technique

The anatomy and tissue characteristics of the ear render reconstructive procedures addressing local defects on the scapha challenging. Twenty patients with variously caused defects on the scapha underwent a one-stage reconstruction with retroauricular pedicled flaps raised without axial vessels. Flap elevation, followed by incision and tunnelling of the cartilage, enables easy access to the defects at the centre of the external surface of the concha. There were no flap losses, no postoperative wound infection and no asymmetries noted in the follow-up. Retroauricular pedicled flaps with random blood supply are safe and ideal for one-stage closure of defects, no larger than 3.5 cm in size, in the lateral anterior part of the external ear. Good functional and aesthetic outcomes can be achieved. (C) 2010 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.