Free Skin Graft with Subcutaneous Vascular Network

Park, Hyang Joon; Kim, You Chan; Cinn, Yong Woo

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Full-thickness skin graft(FTSG) for deep skin defects often results in poor contour cosmetically due to insufficient thickness and does not take on defects with exposed bone or cartilage. These lesions may require more difficult methods such as skin flaps.
OBJECTIVE
To describe the usefulness of free skin graft(FSG) with some fat and vascular network on the underside, and therefore thicker than FTSG, for repairing deep cutaneous defects on the nose.
METHODS
Five patients, four with skin cancers and one with a combined nevus, were treated with FSG harvested from the postauricular area as the donor site.
RESULTS
These grafts provided excellent cosmetic and functional results in all patients without complications.
CONCLUSION
FSG with subcutaneous vascular network is useful in reconstruction of deep skin defects instead of complex, multistaged skin flaps. Moreover, its cosmetic outcome is superior to FTSG.