Background: The temporal area is a useful donor for flaps
owing to its robust blood supply from the superficial temporal artery.
The anterior branch of the frontal division is one of the
two terminal branches that runs antero-superiorly supplying the
muscles, pericranium, and skin of the lateral frontal area. Localizing
the branch using Doppler enables the design of a narrow
flap for eyelid reconstruction.
Objecitve: Evaluation of narrow temporal skin flap for
large eye defects.
Patients and Methods: Eight patients with upper or lower
eyelid defects were enrolled in the study. Doppler tracing of the
anterior branch of the frontal division of the superficial temporal
artery STA was done. A narrow and long flap was raised and
used to reconstruct eyelid defects.
Results: Three upper and five lower eyelid defects were reconstructed.
Four cases were post traumatic, 2 cases were post
burn and two cases were post-infection with skin loss. Seven
patients had only anterior lamella defect while one female patient
had full full-thickness lower eyelid defect which was reconstructed
by Hughes' flap in addition to the forehead flap. Seven flaps
healed well without any complications and one patient suffered
ectropion after one month which was corrected by canthopexy.
Conclusion: Doppler-guided localization of the anterior
branch of the frontal division of STA was beneficial in harvesting
a narrow reliable flap for reconstruction of thin eyelid defects,
decreased operative time, and minimized donor site morbidity.