Skin surgery can sometimes leave a wound that is not suitable for direct closure. This might be because it is too large to close, and there is not enough loose skin in the area. Alternatively the wound might just be able to be closed but would be very tight, or could distort other features (eg eyebrow or lip) if closed directly. In this case, a local flap might be used.
In surgery, a skin flap is a term used to describe a piece of skin that is lifted and moved from one place to another. Crucially, part of the skin remains attached to where it came from, keeping blood flowing in and out of the skin to keep it alive. Keeping a source of blood flow in and out of the skin is what makes it ‘a flap’. When the skin is moved to a part of the body directly next to it (eg a piece of cheek skin is turned to fill a cheek wound), this is termed a ‘local’ flap. Some fat and/or muscle is often taken with the skin, to help fill the wound and improve the blood flow in the flap.