Particularly in this age of mass media, the face plays a pivotal role in human self-identification. Malformations, defects, and bony or soft-tissue changes caused by trauma or neoplasms can drastically alter the patient’s appearance, frequently impacting on his or her feeling of self-worth. Drawing on our experience in the operating room and our many years of planning and conducting courses in plastic and reconstructive surgery, we have created an easy-to-use, step-by-step surgical textbook for the face and neck based on informative illustrations and concise text. Sequences of drawings provide both the novice and the experienced facial surgeon with simple, reproducible solutions to many of the most commonly encountered problems and questions in facial plastic surgery.
Along with the most commonly practiced reconstructive procedures, a number of other proposed technical solutions are presented largely without commentary.
I express thanks to my colleagues St. Remmert and K.Sommer for their contributions on myocutaneous flaps and free tissue transfers. I thank Mrs. Böhm for the immense typing work and Mrs. Schumacher for providing the drawings, which consistently conformed to the author’s wishes.
I also thank Dr. Bergman, Mrs. Müller-Baji, Mr.Krüger, and Thieme Publishers for their outstanding work in the production of this book.