The Karapandzic flap was described in 1974 after a 5-year case series of lip defect reconstruction. This journal club critiques the methods, results and conclusions of this landmark paper.
Summary Card
Level of Evidence: 4 (Case Series)
Background
Karapandzic believed that current flap reconstructions of the lip were not suitable in irradiated tissues due to weak labial artery.
Methods
Over a 5-year period, patients with lower lip defects from 3.5-7cm were reconstructed with this flap.
Results
58 patients. No formal post-operative assessment. Some patients suffered from microstomia.
Conclusion
A reliable flap for large lower lip defects
Slides
There are no PowerPoint slides for this journal club due to the poor image quality of the original publication.
