Prospective comparative study of lower lip defects reconstruction with different local flaps.

Squamous cell carcinoma is the most common malignancy related to the lips (95%), and the lower lip is more commonly involved. Loss of tissue in the lower lip is treated with a variety of techniques, depending on the extension and location of the defect. This was a prospective case series. In this study, 41 patients with squamous cell carcinoma (30 males, 11 females) who were referred to Razi Hospital of Tehran University of Medical Sciences between 2007 and 2008 and underwent lower-lip reconstruction were included. Defects were divided into 4 groups: less than 30%, between 30% and 50%, between 50% and 80%, and more than 80%. Five different local flaps were used for lower-lip reconstruction. Karapandzic flap was used for 9 patients, double reversed-Abbe flap for 6 patients, Abbe-Estlander and step-ladder flaps for 8 patients, and 10 patients underwent reconstruction operation with reversed-Abbe flap. In comparison to reversed-Abbe flap and step-ladder flap, there were no differences functionally and aesthetically except that the step-ladder flap was a single-stage procedure, but the reversed-Abbe flap had 2 stages. There were no functional problems in patients with Estlander flap, but these patients complained of lip asymmetry. There were no functional complaints and aesthetic problems in patients with double reversed-Abbe flap at 3 months after the operation. In patients with 30% to 50% defect of the lower lip, there was no functional and aesthetic difference between Abbe flap and step-ladder flap. Estlander flap is a good choice for reconstruction of lateral or commissural defects of the lower lip. In patients with 50% to 80% defect, it is better to use bilateral reversed-Abbe instead of the Karapandzic flap.