Use of mid-forehead flap in nasal reconstruction

Background: Six hundred years before Christ, the mid-forehead flap was described by the Indian Sushruta Samhita. Until today, this flap called ‘’Indian flap”, has a major role in the reconstruction of the nose. The aim of this work was to analyze the results of the 38th Infirmary of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia of Rio de Janeiro, Professor Ivo Pitanguy’s Service, in nasal reconstruction with the mid-forehead flap. Methods: We did a retrospective study of 10 cases operated in the service for nasal reconstruction with Indian flap, during a 21 year period (1991-2012). Results: The number of nasal sub-units affected varied from 4 to 9, with an average of 6.5 subunits. In 70% of the patients, was performed a previous expansion of the mid-forehead flap and in 90% were used cartilage grafts and/or bones. Five patients had postoperative distortions, that were corrected with other surgeries. No cases of infection, necrosis of the flap or graft extrusion were recorded. Conclusions: This study allowed to demonstrate that the mid-forehead flap still have an important role in nasal reconstruction of major defects, showing satisfactory results due to its vascular safety, the amount of skin which is obtained, likeness of color, texture and skin thickness.