ABSTRACT
Reconstructive surgery attempts to restore both form and function. Because many postsurgical and traumatic conditions result in loss of tissue, restoration of form and function frequently requires replacement of the lost tissue, preferably in kind. The reconstructive surgeon’s goal of completely restoring preinjury form and function may be achieved but can be fraught with significant problems related to the reconstructive surgery itself. Realistic expectations on the part of the patient and the surgeon are necessary in the most challenging cases. Skin grafts are at once the simplest technical procedures to perform but often amongst the most difficult to get a consistent result with regard to healing. The skin graft is an ancient procedure. It is important that it provides immediate coverage of a wound with a resultant donor site that is relatively benign, except for appearance. Cutaneous flaps are termed advancement, rotation, and rhomboid.
