Reconstruction of the Upper Lip

Combined Vestibular Mucosal Advancement and Island Pedicle Flaps for the Repair of a Defect Involving the Cutaneous and Vermilion Upper Lip

“…Vermilion switch flaps are interpolation flaps that may be useful for lateral defects, although these are staged flaps that require pedicle division approximately 10 days after surgery, and delay of pedicle division may make tailoring of the flap difficult . Island pedicle flaps are ideal for repairs involving considerable loss of the cutaneous upper lip, because incision lines can be placed in the vermilion crease inferiorly and in existing rhytides of the upper lip and melolabial fold superiorly …”

“…1 Island pedicle flaps are ideal for repairs involving considerable loss of the cutaneous upper lip, because incision lines can be placed in the vermilion crease inferiorly and in existing rhytides of the upper lip and melolabial fold superiorly. 5 After considering these options, our solution was to combine two techniques to repair each cosmetic subunit (cutaneous and vermilion lip) and thus recreate the vermilion border and not violate the melolabial fold. The first technique used to repair the vermilion lip was a vestibular mucosal advancement flap, which allowed preservation of normal vermillion taper and facilitated healing with the use of healthy vermillion tissue.…”