Reconstruction of full-thickness cheek defects after cancer surgery.
The value of various surgical techniques used to reconstruct full-thickness cheek defects is discussed. Small defects can be repaired with the use of local cervical skin flaps with a random vascular pattern. Axial pattern temporal flap is another choice, either alone or combined with a cervical flap. Whenever local tissues are not suitable (i.e. after irradiation or neck dissection) a transfer of distant myocutaneous island flap based on a pedicle of axial muscle vessels is a valuable alternative. Split skin graft may form a good intra-oral lining of such island flap.
D000368:Aged; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D002610:Cheek / Q000601:surgery; D005153:Facial Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000601:surgery*; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013518:Surgery, Plastic / Q000379:methods; D013524:Surgical Flaps