Successful re-plantation of an amputated nasal segment by supermicrosurgery: A case report and review of the literature

Abstract

The nose is a critical aesthetic subunit of the face, but because of the difficulties in anastomosis of the small-sized arteries and veins, several cases of nasal replantation have been reported. Using supermicrosurgical techniques, we successfully replanted a patient`s nasal segment which had been amputated by a falling sharp metal pipe. The result was excellent both aesthetically and functionally, and the patient was very satisfied. The nose is located at the centre of face and is thus important aesthetically. The nose also has functions in olfaction, respiration, humidification, filtration, temperature regulation and phonation. However, the nose protrudes from the face and is readily injured by trauma, and in injured cases, reconstruction of the nose is essential. Recently, with the development of microsurgery, microsurgical replantation of the amputated nose has been reported.(1-11) We performed successful replantation of the nasal alar and tip that were completely amputated and smaller in size than previous reports, using a supermicrosurgical technique. (C) 2009 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.