[Design and application of the expanded transposition flaps in the treatment of cheek skin defects].

Objective: To introduce the design and application of the expanded transposition skin flap in the treatment of cheek skin defects.
Methods: The expanded transposition flaps were divided into three types: the regular expanded transposition flap (ERT flap), the expanded transposition-advancement-transposition flap (TAT flap) and the expanded rotation-advancement-transposition flap (RAT flap). 135 cases of cheek skin defects resulted from hemangioma, scar and naevi were treated with these three types of flaps. Delay surgery was needed when the ratio of length to width was bigger than 2 : 1.
Results: There were 139 expanded transposition flaps, including 17 ERT flaps, 69 TAT flaps, 53 RAT flaps. Blood supply disturbance was happened at the end of the flaps in 6 cases, including 2 ERT flaps and 4 other flaps. Other flaps had no complication. The results were satisfactory.
Conclusions: The expanded transposition skin flap is a reliable method to repair the cheek skin defect. The preoperative flap design is very important for successful reconstruction.