W-plasty in Scar Revision: Geometrical Considerations and Suggestions for Site-specific Design Modifications

BACKGROUND: A large proportion of scars in clinical practice represent good candidates for surgical revision by virtue of their unfavorable characteristics and relative orientation with respect to skin relaxed tension lines. W-plasty is a very popular excisional revision technique, which involves breaking up the scar margins into small triangular components, which are advanced and interdigitated without any rotation or transposition. METHODS: We performed an extensive literature search using Pubmed MEDLINE, Web of Science, and Embase using the following keywords [W-plasty] AND [scar] AND [revision]. We retrieved 13 articles pertinent to the indications, geometrical design, and technical evolution of the W-plasty scar revision variants. We formulate indications for the use of isosceles/equilateral as opposed to scalene triangle W-plasty and integrate our experience with regards to the choice of geometrical design for different bodily regions. CONCLUSIONS: W-plasty represents a popular technique in reconstructive plastic surgery practice. We believe that the exact W-plasty design should be guided by the relaxed skin tension line definition and to this effect propose 2 main variants of geometrical design pertinent to the index anatomical site.