Crossing Flaps Based on the Occipital Artery for the One-stage Reconstruction of the Large Complex Scalp Defect

Objective To investigate the one-stage reconstruction of the large complex scalp defect.Method 8 patients with large complex scalp defect were reconstructed in one stage using crossing flaps over the vertex based on the occipital artery.Result All the flaps survived completely.All the defects were reconstructed in one stage with satisfactory results.Conclusion The scalp is well vascularized and has abundant anastomoses between the occipital artery and other arteries of scalp.Crossing flaps over the vertex based on the occipital artery is a relatively simple and reliable procedure for the reconstruction of the complex scalp defect with a size of 1/2～1/3 of the total scalp.