Reconstruction of the cervical trachea with a free forearm flap.
With the aim of voice restoration after repair of a total defect or obstruction of the cervical trachea, we developed a new method of total cervical tracheal reconstruction with a free forearm flap. The forearm flap is inverted to form a tube and then interposed between the subglottic trachea and an adjacent cutaneous fistula created at the upper portion of the tracheostoma. A permanent tracheostoma is preserved, and an L-shaped silicone tube is inserted in the reconstructed cervical trachea and the tracheostoma as a stent. In two patients, both became able to speak.
Yamada
A
A
Department of Plastic Surgery, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Japan.
Harii
K
K
Itoh
Y
Y
Kikawada
T
T
Miyashita
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation; D008297:Male; D015607:Stents; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000379:methods*; D014132:Trachea / Q000601:surgery*; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000295:instrumentation