Posterior Lamellar Reconstruction of the Lower Eyelid With a Gingivoalveolar Mucosal Graft

The anterior and posterior lamellae should be simultaneously reconstructed to repair the upper and lower eyelid's full thickness defects after resection of a malignant tumor. The author described a gingivoalveolar mucosal graft for posterior lamellar reconstruction of the lower eyelid. Between November 2014 and September 2017, 11 patients (6 women, 5 men; mean age 62.7 years) with 13 posterior lamellar defect of lower eyelid underwent reconstruction with gingivoalveolar mucosal graft. The defects ranged from 10 x 8 mm to 20 x 10 mm. For 11 lower eyelid defects, the anterior lamellar defect was previously reconstructed with an appropriate local flap. The remaining 2 defects were repaired with graft only. The mean follow-up period was 15.3 months. The pathologic diagnoses were squamous cell carcinoma for 8 lower eyelid lesions and basal cell carcinoma for the remaining 5 lower eyelid lesions. No case of necrosis and infection was observed in any flap or graft. Also, there was not observed ectropion or lid laxity at lower eyelids. However, redness developed in 1 eye, but healed in 1 week. Donor areas completely improved with secondary healing with no any complication. Gingivoalveolar mucosal graft is a reliable and easy accessible choice for posterior lamellar reconstruction of eyelid defects. While the gingival mucosal part provides a stable and tight structural support for marginal palpebral area, the alveolar part occupies the conjunctival side without causing cor...
Source: Journal of Craniofacial Surgery - Category: Surgery Tags: Clinical Studies Source Type: research