Local flap

A piece of skin and underlying tissue moved from next to a wound into the wound while it stays attached to its own blood supply. Because the skin comes from the same area, its colour and thickness match well. Common types are advancement, rotation and transposition flaps.

Related terms

• Procedure

  Pedicled flap

  A flap of tissue moved to a nearby site while still attached to its original blood supply, in contrast to a free flap whose pedicle is divided and reconnected at the new site.

• Procedure

  Skin graft

  A thin layer of skin removed from one part of the body and placed on a wound elsewhere; survives initially by absorbing nutrients before new blood vessels grow in from the wound bed.

• Glossary

  Healing by secondary intention

  Leaving a wound open to heal on its own, by filling with granulation tissue and then skin growing in from the edges, instead of closing it with stitches, a flap or a graft. It takes weeks and needs regular dressings; on concave sites of the face it can give an excellent result.

Articles mentioning this term

1. Patient information · 26 September 2026

   Melanoma surgery

   Wide local excision and sentinel node biopsy after melanoma: why the margin follows Breslow thickness, what happens on the day, the risks and follow-up.

2. Patient information · 26 September 2026

   Skin cancer surgery

   What basal cell and squamous cell carcinoma are, why excision is the usual treatment, what margins mean, how wounds are closed, and what recovery involves.

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