Abstract: PURPOSE: To explore the application value and clinical effect of the "reading man" flap in repairing wounds after resection of relatively large buccal tumors. METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed on 56 patients with buccal defects repaired by the "reading man" flap in Zigong Fourth People's Hospital from June 2011 to June 2021. Flaps were designed perpendicular to the relaxed skin tension lines according to the defect location and area, and wounds were repaired by rotation and transposition. The defect area ranged from 2.3 cm×2.5 cm to 4.5 cm×5.0 cm, with an average of 10.7 cm². RESULTS: Among the 56 patients, 2 cases with defects adjacent to the lower eyelid developed obvious immediate ectropion after repair with the standard "reading man" flap and were converted to skin grafting. Of the remaining 54 cases, 49 achieved primary wound healing without infection, and 5 had minor necrosis at the flap tip that healed after dressing changes. During 7-24 months of follow-up, no obvious facial deformity or dysfunction occurred in the 54 flap-repaired patients. Local tumor recurrence was noted in 3 patients with cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma, who underwent reoperation successfully. CONCLUSIONS: The "reading man" flap can make full use of the surrounding tissues of the wound and is suitable for repairing large buccal skin defects with advantages of simple operation, low incidence of facial deformity and hidden scar. Reasonable flap design and precise surgical manipulation are the key to successful application.

Key words: Reading man flap, Buccal defect, Cutaneous tumor, Wound repair