title: Free-flap reconstruction of large head and neck defects in the elderly.
abstract: Advanced-stage and recurrent malignancies of the head and neck place severe demands on both the surgical team and the patient. Marked alterations in cosmesis and function are to be expected following major ablative surgery. The use of free tissue transfer with microvascular anastomoses has provided the head and neck surgeon the freedom to resect these lesions aggressively and to provide the patient with improved cosmesis, function, and protection of vital structures. A series of six cases involving patients at The University of Alabama at Birmingham over the past year is presented.
authors.affiliation: Division of Otolaryngology/Head and Neck Surgery, University of Alabama, Birmingham School of Medicine 35233.
authors.forename: G E
authors.initials: GE
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Grotting
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D013524:Surgical Flaps