Cutaneous flaps

Abstract

The origin of cutaneous flaps dates back to 600 BC in India when crimes such as adultery were punished by amputation of the nose. Indian physicians such as Sushruta Samita were called upon to correct the resultant deformity using cheek flap procedures.1 Nasal reconstruction using the forehead flap evolved centuries later in India1 and continued to be used in Europe through the fifteenth century. In the late sixteenth century, Italian surgeons such as Tagliacozzi also utilized pedicled flaps from the arm for nasal reconstruction.1 It was not until the nineteenth century that further refinements in flap surgery occurred in England, France, and Germany. By the twentieth century, the appearance of new suture materials and local anesthesia brought further innovations in closure of skin and soft tissue defects. © 2010 Springer-Verlag New York.