> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theplasticsfella.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # We’re Going Live, Otoplasty Classics, & Foundations Out! - URL: https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/ - Published: 2025-08-15T18:58:26.000Z - Updated: 2025-08-22T17:30:15.000Z - Description: Also: Trapdoor flap, antia-buch flap, & the fellows' corner. - Author: PlasticsFella - Tags: thePlasticsPaper #### In this week's edition 1. ****✍️** [****Letter from P'Fella**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#a-letter-from-pfella) We’re taking the PlasticsFella live. 2. ****🤓** [****The Sunday Quiz**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#the-sunday-quiz) How well do you know **otoplasty?* 3. 🖼️ [****Image of the Week**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#image-of-the-week) Trapdoor flap for auricular recon. 4. ****🚑** [****Technique Tip**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#technique-tip) Antia-buch flap: Step-by-step. 5. 📘 [****Foundations Textbook**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#foundations-textbook) Now available on the website! 6. 🎓 [****The Fellows' Corner**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#the-fellows-corner) Experience as an educational fellow: Benedetta Agnelli. 7. 📖 [****JPRAS Journal Club**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#jpras-journal-club) Early oral feeding after head & neck free flaps. 8. ****🔥** [****Articles of the Week**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#articles-of-the-week) Creating a cartilage frame, simplifying ear lobe recon, & antia buch original publication: With 1-sentence summaries. 9. 💕 [****Feedback**](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/august-17th/#feedback) Suggest ideas & give feedback! ## A Letter from P'Fella **We’re Taking The Plastics Fella Live* 👋 Hey Team, After months of experimenting, tweaking, and — let’s be honest — a bit of trial and error — we think we’ve found something special. The Plastics Fella is about to step into a new chapter… and we want you right there with us. We’re going **live**. Not just once in a while — **a few times every month** — with sessions designed to make you sharper, more confident, and better connected to the specialty you love. **What’s in the Works** - **Study Clubs** where we tackle tricky, high-yield topics together. - **Roundtables** with the kind of surgeons you’d want to scrub in with. - **Journal Clubs (without the fluff)** — short, clear, and actually worth your time. We’ve tested different ways to do it, and this feels like the format that will really bring our community closer. **Help Shape This New Chapter** We’ve got the bones of the plan, but the details? That’s where you come in. You’ve never been shy about telling me what works (and what doesn’t), and that honesty is why this platform works at all. Right now, we’re deciding between formats — small-group discussions, case-based deep dives, rapid-fire teaching — and we want your vote. We’re also lining up our first sessions, and we can go in a few directions. We don't want this to be just another webinar; we want to improve on what is already out there. Tell us what would get you to block out time in your calendar — and we’ll build this new face of The Plastics Fella around it. The truth is, The Plastics Fella has always been more than a platform — it’s a group of people who show up for each other, share what they know, and push the specialty forward. These live sessions are our way of making that connection even more real. So let’s do it. Let’s make something we all look forward to — like catching up with friends, except the friends are world-class surgeons and the conversations might just change how you operate. With love, P’Fella ❤️ ## The Sunday Quiz **How Well Do You Know Otoplasty?* ****Ready to climb the leaderboard?** Join **The Weekly Quiz* in each edition of thePlasticsPaper. This is the third round of seven rounds! The ****top** scorer wins one of the first print [**Foundations*](https://foundations.theplasticsfella.com/?ref=theplasticsfella.com) at a discount once it's released! ## Image of the Week **Trapdoor Flap for Auricular Recon* 🖼️ ****Image of the Week** This week’s image features a step-by-step demonstration of a posterior auricular (trapdoor) flap. \- The flap is marked on the ****posterior ear surface**, then elevated and rotated 180° anteriorly to reconstruct a ****conchal defect**. \- This versatile flap technique includes an extension into the ****external auditory meatus**, allowing for resurfacing with excellent tissue match. A useful flap for auricular defects involving both skin and conchal cartilage with aesthetic and functional relevance. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/9f/a09fd7b4-d396-4b28-aed3-b87e20483292/content/images/2025/08/Screenshot-2025-08-15-at-09-47-49.png) Trapdoor Flap for Auricular Recon - [Source](https://www.jprasurg.com/article/S0007-1226%2803%2900307-2/pdf?ref=theplasticsfella.com) ## Technique Tip **Antia-Buch Flap: Step-by-Step* 🚑 ****Technique Tip of the Week** This week’s technique tip breaks down the Antia-Buch flap, a reliable option for helical rim reconstruction. In this video, you'll see: \- How to design and elevate the chondrocutaneous advancement flap. \- Key steps in mobilising the helical root for tension-free closure. \- How to optimise cosmetic contour and preserve vascularity. ## Foundations Textbook **Now Available on the Website!* 📘 ****Foundations Textbook: eBook Release** After months of collaboration, editing, and student input, **Foundations*: The Textbook is now officially available as an eBook. Watch the short intro below for a glimpse — built by students, fellows, and surgeons from around the world. The printed version has also started shipping, watch out for any deliveries! 0:00 /0:08 1× ## the Fellows' Corner **Experience as an Educational Fellow: Benedetta Agnelli* 🎓 ****the Fellows' Corner** While working on the Foundations Textbook, Benedetta Agnelli played a key role as one of our Educational Fellows — helping turn complex surgical topics into engaging, structured content. Here’s what she had to say about her time as an educational fellow at the P'fella👇 ![ Benedetta Agnelli - Educational Fellow](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a0/9f/a09fd7b4-d396-4b28-aed3-b87e20483292/content/images/2025/08/our-Fellows--6-.png) Benedetta Agnelli - Educational Fellow ## JPRAS Journal Club **Early Oral Feeding After Head & Neck Free Flaps* 👄 A systematic review of 13 studies (1,657 patients) challenges the old "**nil-by-mouth*" dogma after mucosal free flap recon. Patients who started oral feeding within 5 days had: ✅ Lower fistula rates (3.7% vs 11.4%) ✅ Fewer pneumonias (6.3% vs 12.4%) ✅ Shorter hospital stays (9.8 vs 13.1 days) 🚫 No increased flap failure or dehiscence Read the full breakdown below. [Read the Article](https://www.theplasticsfella.com/journal-free-flap-reconstruction/) ## Articles of the Week **3 Interesting Articles with One-Sentence Summaries* ✅ ****3D Rib Cartilage Frames in Microtia Surgery** ([Nagata](https://journals.lww.com/plasreconsurg/pages/video.aspx?v=535&autoPlay=true&ref=theplasticsfella.com), 2014) Satoru Nagata’s video demonstrates how three-dimensional frameworks sculpted from autologous costal cartilage form the structural basis for auricular reconstruction in microtia. ✅ ****Earlobe Reconstruction Simplified** ([Jain](https://www.jprasurg.com/article/S1748-6815%2814%2900411-2/abstract?ref=theplasticsfella.com), 2014) Recreating the earlobe’s smooth, rounded contour — long considered a challenging aesthetic detail — can be achieved with a simplified surgical technique that restores natural appearance more reliably. ✅ ****A Classic Flap for Ear Margin Repair** ([Antia](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/5336914/?ref=theplasticsfella.com), 1967) The Antia-Buch chondrocutaneous advancement flap, first described in 1967, remains a foundational and effective technique for reconstructing marginal ear defects with preserved contour. ## Feedback ### I hope you enjoyed it 😄 ---