Treatment Approaches and Reconstruction with Nasolabial Flap in Nasal Vestibular Cancers

Background: Nasal vestibule cancers are rare head and neck cancers. The aim of this study was to evaluate the age, gender, complaints, nasolabial flap (NLF), and reconstruction methods of patients diagnosed with nasal vestibule cancer in our clinic.

Methods: The demographic characteristics, localization of the lesion, size of the lesion, histopathological diagnosis, tumor stage, treatment, and reconstruction methods of patients who underwent surgery for nasal vestibular squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) between March 2019 and March 2023 were investigated. The tumor-node-metastasis staging system developed by the American Joint Committee for Cancer and the International Union for Cancer Control was used for tumor staging.

Results: Data of 10 patients with nasal vestibule cancer were obtained. All patients were male and the histopathological diagnosis of incisional biopsies was SCC. The mean age of the patients was 67.2 ± 8.7 years. The smallest lesion was 0.5 " 0.5 cm, and the largest was 3 " 4 cm. The tumors were clinically in T1 and T2 stages. All patients underwent surgical treatment. Reconstruction was performed bilaterally in 3 patients and unilaterally with a NLF in 7 patients.

Conclusion: A NLF can be used safely in the reconstruction of the defect after surgical resection in early stage nasal vestibule tumors because it is in the surgical field, there is no tissue color difference, it is an axial flap, and has acceptable aesthetic results.

Cite this article as: Mehel DM, Kuru C, Cihan SN, et al. Treatment approaches and reconstruction with nasolabial flap in nasal vestibular cancers. Balkan ORL-HNS 2025;2(1):22-26.