Acquired Full-Thickness Nasal Ala Defects: General Principles and Reconstruction Options

Abstract

The article presents the data of scholarly publications on the general principles and organizational solutions for nasal ala reconstruction of full-thickness defects. The reconstruction of the full-thickness nasal ala defect includes restoration of the external skin and internal covering epithelium, formation of support structures to achieve a stabile shape and position of the alar subunit. With this end in view, plastic material in the form of composite grafts from the auricle is applied, and each tissue layer is formed separately in the region of the defect. The external skin is most often reconstructed with medial cheek cutaneous flaps. The support structures are formed with cartilage autografts. The reconstruction of the internal lining defect is performed with local mucosal or skin flaps, more rarely mucosal or skin grafts. The limiting factors are: risk for ischemic complications, surgical trauma, and secondary surgical correction. The agenda do not only include achievement of acceptable anatomical and functional results but also the quality of perioperative life, shorter time and duration of the surgical intervention and minimum changes in the donor site.