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The method presented here is useful only for the repair of a very small loss of alar rim, a loss perhaps no more than a quarter of an inch in width and a half-inch in height. Such a minor loss of alar rim presents a troublesome problem in that the repair of so slight a defect often requires a complicated or an extensive surgical operation. After many procedures had been experimented with, the method described in the following paragraph was finally evolved. The technic is simple and is easily carried out with little or no discomfort or inconvenience to the patient. It is practically an office procedure. Furthermore, no additional disfigurement is produced even if the operation should result in total failure.
Briefly, the method utilizes a small flap of skin taken from the side of the columella, with the pedicle toward the base of the columella (fig. 1). It