Pedicled scalp island flap for successful one stage aesthetic eyebrow reconstruction

ABSTRACT

The use of scalp flap based on frontal branch of superficial temporal artery is one of the famous known methods of eyebrow reconstruction. But to achieve aesthetic eyebrow appearance it is important not only to have viable scalp flap but also normal width, length together with and more importantly the direction of the hairs and lastly the density of hairs. This study included 18 patients, six patients were males and 12 were females with age ranging from 13 to 50 years. The treated patients had unilateral partial or complete brow loss. Management was done for all patients by following some technical considerations to have aesthetic eyebrow shape. during using the scalp island flap based on one of the branches of superficial temporal artery. All cases were done as one stage operation with satisfactory appearance and survival rate [100%]. There was minimal swelling due to the subcutaneous pedicle in the temporal region which needed between 2-3 weeks to subside in all cases. One case of the post-burn alopecia of eye brows suffered partial flap congestion, which improved by conservative measures. The results were satisfactory as regard the eyebrow measurement [width and length], hair direction, but the hair density was higher than the normal density which was clearly noted in partial cases or unilateral reconstruction. And the hair growth also was noted to be faster than normal [they needed frequent shortening]. Scalp island superficial temporal artery flap is an excellent solution for aesthetic eye brow reconstruction. Perfect match with the undamaged eyebrow in partial loss or unilateral cases can be achieved by following some pre-operative and intraoperative important technical considerations