The chondrocutaneous postauricular free flap.

Use of the auriculomastoid region as a donor-site for a microvascular free flap is still not the general consensus. This report presents three patients with composite tissue defects of the face aesthetically reconstructed with a chondrocutaneous postauricular free flap. For its safe surgical application, additional anatomic knowledge was refined with cadaver study. Use of the chondrocutaneous postauricular free flap has some merits. Its dissection is straightforward and safer than when only the cutaneous unit is used. It also offers a more dependable vascularized composite tissue as a one-stage operation. With freedom of design, a variable combined facial defect can be delicately reconstructed. The final aesthetic results obtained were gratifying, and the donor-site deformity was minimal.