A comparison of three methods of oral reconstruction.
A protocol is presented that was designed to provide comparative data on the two primary oral cavity functions affected by surgery: speech and swallowing. Three types of reconstruction (skin grafts, hemitongue flaps, and myocutaneous flaps) and results of a series of tests given to 15 surgical patients with T2 and T3 tongue and/or floor of mouth lesions were evaluated. The patients who had split-thickness skin grafts had the best oral function results. The study suggests that tongue mobility is the most significant variable in determining post-operative speech results.
D003679:Deglutition; D006801:Humans; D009060:Mouth Floor; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D009068:Movement; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013062:Speech Articulation Tests; D013065:Speech Intelligibility; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014059:Tongue / Q000502:physiology; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*