title: Pattern assembly--an aid to flap design during oral microsurgical reconstruction.
abstract: Surgical ablation of tumors within the oral cavity results in a three-dimensional defect and a potential puzzle for the reconstructive surgeon. Although a myriad of papers discussing the relative advantages and disadvantages of various methods of reconstruction are readily available for consultation, very few publications have provided the surgeon with a guide either to visualization of the defect or to how to reconstruct a three-dimensional defect with an essentially two-dimensional flap. Our intention is not to provide the answer for every oral reconstructive problem--after all, no two patients are alike--but we will demonstrate that an appreciation of the defect in three-dimensions, together with an understanding of oral function, provides a template for flap design and inset. This is achieved by simplifying the complex anatomical shape of the oral cavity into a geometric form from which a series of simple, easily recognisable shapes can be derived and assembled as necessary into a pattern that reproduces the defect, providing a template for flap design and inset.
authors.affiliation: Maxillofacial Surgical Unit, Southampton University Hospitals Trust, UK.
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Grime
authors.forename: F C
authors.initials: FC
authors.lastname: Wei
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D008441:Maxillary Neoplasms; D008866:Microsurgery / Q000379:methods*; D009057:Stomatognathic Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps