Answer:
Millard adapted Gonzales-Ulloa’s concept of “regional esthetic units” to nasal reconstruction (alar lobule, soft triangle, tip, dorsum, sidewalls). The borders between these “units” are transition areas in the contour of the nose where shadows are detected under normal lighting. Suture lines are ideally made to correspond with these boundaries to camouflage maximally the scars. Aesthetic units are considered when planning coverage of nasal skin defects. As a general rule, if the defect is >50% of the aesthetic nasal unit, the defect is enlarged to include the entire aesthetic unit, provided that after enlargement it does not exceed the dimensions of the donor flap. If the missing skin makes up <50% of the aesthetic area, however, one tends to ignore the aesthetic unit rather than remove normal skin to convert it to a larger defect.