Successful Repair of a Forehead Depression Deformation due to En Coup de Sabre Using Costal Cartilage Transplantation.

The authors report a successful repair of a case of en coup de sabre using costal cartilage for depression deformation of the forehead. A 23-year-old woman was diagnosed with linear scleroderma at age 10 and underwent a dermal fat transplant at another hospital when she was 18. However, after surgery, the graft began to atrophy. In about 2 years, the deformation was almost the same as before surgery. Therefore, she visited our hospital for surgical intervention. The authors treated the deformity with costal cartilage transplantation. There were no postoperative complications, and the deformation did not recur during a one-year follow-up period after surgery. As far as the authors know, this is the first report of repairing a forehead deformity due to en coup de sabre using costal cartilage. The authors suggest that costal cartilage grafting is a good surgical option because costal cartilage can be easily carved and maintain its shape without absorption.