[The bilobed flap: a very efficient method in aesthetic reconstruction of small skin defects at the alar and tip regions of the nose].

From October 1996 to January 2001, 20 patients (14 men and six women) ranging from 36 to 75 years old have been treated for their small skin defects of the nose by using the bilobed flap. These skin defects were located in 15 cases at the alar region and in five cases at the tip region. They were secondary to the resection of basal cell carcinoma in 17 cases and benign tumors in three cases. Their diameter ranged from 8 to 17 mm and in all these cases there was no involvement of the lining or cartilage. The design used for this bilobed flap was the Zitelli one, based on some mathematical principles; its base was medial or lateral depending on the site of the defect. With this method, the skin defects were reconstructed esthetically without any distortion of local anatomy of the nose with skin having the same color, texture and thickness. With an average of 28 month follow-up, all these reconstructions were stable with discreet scars and without the trapdoor phenomenon. No complications were reported. Esthetic reconstruction of such subunit nasal skin defects is easily done by this technique and is better than that obtained by the majority of others methods.