Objective: To classify the blood vessel distribution of the expanded skin in the mastoid region and its relevance to reasonable and reliable design of the expanded flap for auricular reconstruction in congenital microtia.
Methods: The blood vessel distribution of the expanded skin in the mastoid region was observed by light permeation test. The expanded flaps with different ratio of length to width were designed according to their blood vessel distribution types.
Results: The vascular distribution of the expanded skin in 403 cases was divided into five types. All the flaps survived completely.
Conclusions: The blood vessel distribution type of the expanded skin in mastoid region has great significance for the design of post-auricular expanded flap in auricular reconstruction.