The nose occupies the most prominent position of the face, a position that makes it vulnerable to distortion by trauma and the most frequent feature involved with skin cancer. It may be ravaged by an infectious process or deformed by congenital abnormality. Any deviation from the normal is quick to incite ridicule.
In ancient times amputation of the nose was considered a justifiable punishment for a variety of crimes ranging from robbery to adultery. The art of nose making was born in the back streets of ancient India in the hands of potters.
Reconstruction of the nose requires an accurate assessment of the extent of loss and need for the nasal lining, skin covering, and skeletal support for the best results. In addition, careful evaluation of the methods and materials available for repair to ensure the best possible match in terms of color, texture, and contour is obligatory.
At the present time the most popular cover is still the forehead, because of color, texture and vascularity. It is fashioned and transported by various popular methods, among which are Gillies "up and down flap", New’s "sickle flap", Converse’s "scalping flap" and Kazanjian’s revivl of the Indian vertical midline flap.
It is not necessary to adhere strictly to stereotyped forehead patterns.
The angle at which the flap is cut must vary with the case.
Authors reconstructed two cases of subtotal nasal defects by forehead flap with good result.
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