Background: Significant defects at the fronto-naso-orbital area always present with severe facial disfigurement for the afflicted individuals. It may occur after tumor ablations, compound comminuted fractures, or craniofacial surgeries at this area.
Patients and methods: Reconstructions of 11 patients with this problem had been performed by the authors, with follow-up for 3 to 25 years. The modes of reconstruction involved carved cartilage block with fascia grafts in 3 patients, split calvarial bone grafting covered with fascia grafts in 2 patients, drilled bone chips harvested from outer table of calvarial bone encased with fascia for smaller defects in 2 patients, 3-dimensional computed tomographic reconstruction and reformation of replica to replace the destroyed framework in 4 patients.
Results: Patients in this series all achieved good results, with symmetric face, acceptable facial contour, and being willing to attend social activities with deliberate evaluation and planning, selection of proper method, with proficient skills in reconstruction. One patient who received cartilage block grafting came back for refining facial contour 18 years later.
Conclusions: Midline fronto-naso-orbital defects could be reconstructed with carved cartilage graft or bone graft, overlaid with fascia graft, intricate asymmetric defects can be reconstructed with the aid of 3-dimensional computed tomographic image reconstruction and reformation of the defect replica to achieve symmetric esthetic result with individualized approaches.