Two Cases of Ear Reconstruction Using Prefabricated Radial Forearm Free Flap

Deformities of the auricular region that have been resulted from burns or other traumatic injuries emotionally devastate the patients and frustrate the surgeons. The surgical procedure for ear reconstruction varies depending upon the quality and quantity of available skin in the auricular region after burns and other facial trauma for the coverage of cartilage framework. Postauricular skin, postauricular fascia, temporoparietal fascia have been used for traumatized ear reconstruction according to the literature. But toral ear reconstruction in the cases of severe trauma like burn or traffic accident is one of the most difficult problems because of its paucity and poor quality of the available skin in the auricular region. The author reports two cases of traumatized ear reconstruction using a prefabricated radial forearm fasciocutaneous free flap made of an autogenous costal cartilage framework. This flap is valuable for the reconstruction of severely traumatized ear when local tissue or other free flaps are improper to select.

Breast Reconstruction Using Bipedicled free TRAM in Patients with Subumbilical Vertical Midline Scar

Breast reconstruction using TRAM flap after mastectomy has been widely adopted and regarded as a gold standard method. In patients with the abdominal midline scar, insufficient blood circulation to regions contralateral to the pedicle disables inclusion of them in the TRAM flap design. So modifications including Double- pedicled TRAM, Super-charged, Turbo-charged, Bipedicled free TRAM et al. have been attempted to resolve the problem of circulatory interruption by midline scar. The authors designed a new bipedicled free TRAM flap to avoid limitations like epigastric buldging, significant abdominal weakness and complexity of flap insetting. The two donor arteries(right and left deep inferior epigastric arteries) are anastomosed to the proximal and distal ends of divided internal mammary arteries using the reverse flow. Vein anastomoses were performed in the same manner through the divided venae comitantes. Two patients having infraumbilical midline scar underwent breast reconstruction using author`s new flap. Flaps survived without fat necrosis or partial flap loss in both patients and their results in aesthetic aspects were very satisfactory. Compared to previous method for breast reconstruction of patients having infraumbilical midline scar, author's new method is useful and effective in terms of the aesthetic and technical aspect.