Summary
The nose is a central, prominent unit of the face. The surgical approach to complete
nasal amputations is challenging and an experienced microsurgical team should always
attempt microvascular replantation. This one-stage procedure could result in a superior
clinical outcome compared to delayed reconstructive procedures.
Two successful microvascular replantations of the distal half of the nose were performed.
Both amputations were the result of two completely different aetiologies (sharp guillotine-like
vs. avulsion trauma). However, we were not able to re-establish the venous drainage,
which was managed through medicinal leeching.
Both replantations resulted in an aesthetically pleasing result and no additional
surgery was needed.
A microsurgical replantation attempt should always be attempted in nasal amputations
and the inability to perform venous anastomosis should not preclude the replant attempt.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: October 19, 2011
Accepted:
August 21,
2011
Received:
July 31,
2011
Footnotes
☆The article has been presented at the Autumn Meeting of the Royal Belgian Society for Plastic Surgery, 2010.
Identification
Copyright
© 2011 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
