Versatility of the posterior auricular flap in partial ear reconstruction
Abstract
BACKGROUND: The posterior auricular flap alone has always been popular because of its prompt availability, its rich vascularity, and the ease of closing the donor-site defect primarily. METHODS: Fifty-seven patients with partial ear defects covered with posterior auricular flaps during the period between 2002 and 2007 were reviewed. In the authors' series, posterior auricular flaps were harvested based on a simple random vascularization and tailored to reach almost any defect of the ear by a simplified and standardized approach. RESULTS: The authors propose a simple nomenclature after grouping the flaps according to skin paddle type, pedicle type, pedicle base, flap transfer method, and flap movement; they present a standardized algorithm with which to choose the flap design for a given defect from this group. CONCLUSIONS: The authors contribute three new flap designs to enhance the versatility of the posterior auricular flap. These are the superiorly and inferiorly based twisted island flaps and the posterior auricular propeller flap.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The findings on complication rate are in line with the current literature.
“These findings are in line with the current literature on the topic [7,8,9].”
From A Retrospective Study on Single-Stage Reconstruction of the Ear following Skin Cancer Excision in Elderly Patients (2022) · cites this paper as [9]
The RD flap is supplied by the auricular branch of the postauricular artery in the retroauricular groove.
“The RD flap is supplied by the auricular branch of postauricular artery in the retroauricular groove.”
From The Revolving Door Flap: Revisiting an Elegant but Forgotten Flap for Ear Defect Reconstruction (2020) · cites this paper as [9]
Cites
A simple island flap for reconstruction of concha-helix defects
Masson, J. K. (1972) · British Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1016/s0007-1226(72)80083-3 · Cited by 137 · see citing works
A New Arterial Flap from the Postauricular Surface: Its Anatomic Basis and Clinical Application
Park, C., Shin, K. S., Kang, H. S., Lee, Y. H., & Lew, J. D. (1988) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-198809000-00023 · Cited by 67 · see citing works
Retroauricular skin: a flaps bank for ear reconstruction
Cordova, A., D’Arpa, S., Pirrello, R., Giambona, C., & Moschella, F. (2007) · Journal of Plastic Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.bjps.2007.09.004 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
A METHOD OF PARTIAL EAR RECONSTRUCTION FOR AVULSION OF THE UPPER PORTION OF THE EAR
Crikelair, G. F. (1956) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-195606000-00003 · Cited by 59 · see citing works
Reconstruction of skin cancer defects of the auricle
Reddy, L. V., & Zide, M. F. (2004) · Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery · doi:10.1016/j.joms.2004.07.006 · Cited by 54 · see citing works
FORMATION OF THE HELIX WITH A POSTAURICULAR FLAP
Lewin, M. L. (1950) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-195005000-00007 · Cited by 51 · see citing works
Postauricular Flap Based on a Dermal Pedicle for Ear Reconstruction
Renard, A. (1981) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-198108000-00005 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
The posterior auricular flap: anatomical studies
Kolhe, P. S., & Leonard, A. G. (1987) · British Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1016/0007-1226(87)90149-4 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Retroauricular flap: its clinical application and safety
Yotsuyanagi, T., Watanabe, Y., Yamashita, K., Urushidate, S., Yokoi, K., & Sawada, Y. (2001) · British Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1054/bjps.2000.3479 · Cited by 45 · see citing works
Auricular reconstruction with a postauricular myocutaneous island flap: Flip-flop flap
Talmi, Y. P., Horowitz, Z., Bedrin, L., & Kronenberg, J. (1996) · Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-199612000-00010 · Cited by 42 · see citing works
COMPOSITE FREE GRAFTS OF TWO SURFACES OF SKIN AND CARTILAGE FROM THE EAR
Brown, J. B., & Cannon, B. (1946) · Annals of Surgery · doi:10.1097/00000658-194612000-00011 · Cited by 40 · see citing works
Reconstruction of Defects Involving the Upper One-Third of the Auricle
Yotsuyanagi, T., Nihei, Y., & Sawada, Y. (1998) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-199809040-00008 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Reconstruction of Defects Involving the Upper One-Third of the Auricle
Yotsuyanagi, T., Nihei, Y., & Sawada, Y. (1998) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-199809020-00008 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
The versatile revolving door flap in the reconstruction of ear defects
Jackson, I. T., Milligan, L., & Agrawal, K. (1994) · European Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1007/bf00178677 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
One-stage reconstruction of the antihelix and concha using postauricular island flap
Papadopoulos, O. N., Karypidis, D. K., Chrisostomidis, C. I., Konofaos, P. P., & Frangoulis, M. B. (2008) · Clinical and Experimental Dermatology · doi:10.1111/j.1365-2230.2008.02741.x · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Ear Reconstruction with a Flap from the Medial Surface of the Auricle
Elsahy, N. I. (1985) · Annals of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1097/00000637-198502000-00017 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
AN EFFECTIVE METHOD FOR CLOSING DEFECTS OF THE EXTERNAL AUDITORY CANAL*
OWENS, N. (1959) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-195904000-00007 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
The trap door flap for reconstructing defects of the concha
Lynch, J., Mahajan, A., & Regan, P. J. (2003) · British Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1016/s0007-1226(03)00307-2 · Cited by 13 · see citing works
Reconstruction of the scaphoid fossa of the ear after tumour resection with a retroauricular flap
Ferrer, A. D., Granados, F. A., ́a-Nieto, A. V. ́. G., & ́n, J. F. ́. S. (1994) · British Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1016/0007-1226(94)90014-0 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Postauricular Flap Based on a Dermal Pedicle for Ear Reconstruction
Renard, A., & Tanzer, R. C. (1981) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/00006534-198108000-00006 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Ear Reconstruction after Mohs cancer excision: lessons learned from 327 consecutive cases
Sanniec, K., Harirah, M., & Thornton, J. F. (2019) · Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery · doi:10.1097/prs.0000000000005992 · Cited by 39 · see citing works
Bolletta, A., Losco, L., Pozzi, M., Schettino, M., & Cigna, E. (2022) · Journal of Clinical Medicine · doi:10.3390/jcm11030838 · Cited by 15 · see citing works
The Revolving Door Flap: Revisiting an Elegant but Forgotten Flap for Ear Defect Reconstruction
Golash, A., Bera, S., Kanoi, A. V., & Golash, A. (2020) · Indian Journal of Plastic Surgery · doi:10.1055/s-0040-1709531 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Franco-Muñoz, M., Romero-Aguilera, G., Flores-Terry, M., González Ruíz, L., Rogel Vence, M., Sánchez Caminero, M. P., & García-Arpa, M. (2020) · Actas Dermo-Sifiliográficas · doi:10.1016/j.ad.2020.03.002 · Cited by 7 · see citing works
- Authors
- Schonauer, F., Vuppalapati, G., Marlino, S., Santorelli, A., Canta, L., & Molea, G.
- Affiliations
- Federico II University Hospital (IT)
- ORCID
- Santorelli, Adriano
- Venue
- Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
- Published
- 2010-10
- Volume
- 126
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 1213-1221
- ISSN
- 0032-1052 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2334768761
- Cited by
- 54
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 2.02
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Reconstructive Facial Surgery Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Reconstructive Surgery and Microvascular Techniques
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Genetics › Congenital Ear and Nasal Anomalies
- Keywords
- auricular defects, propeller flap, flap design, skin paddle
- MeSH terms
- Ear Deformities, Acquired, Esthetics, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Graft Rejection, Graft Survival, Humans, Male, Retrospective Studies, Surgical Flaps, Wound Healing, Cohort Studies, Patient Satisfaction, Risk Assessment, Plastic Surgery Procedures, Ear Auricle
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
