title: Microvascular free tissue transfer in oral and maxillofacial reconstruction.
abstract: Forty-two patients with head and neck cancer were submitted to microvascular reconstructive procedures. We divided patients in three groups; a first group of 30 patients, in whom the oral floor (8 patients), the part of tongue (14 patients), the lower gingiva (6 patients) and the oropharynx (2 patients) were reconstructed using various sizes of forearm flaps; a second group of 7 patients who underwent buccal mucosa reconstructions with the forearm flaps; and a third group of 5 patients who received rectus abdominis flaps for total tongue reconstruction. Three illustrative cases, one from each group, are presented in detail. Good results were obtained in 39 patients (94%), with both functional and morphological rehabilitation. There were three flap losses due to thrombosis of the microvascular anastomoses. There was no surgical mortality. The average operating time was about 10 hours in total. We concluded that there is a place for these complex procedures in the treatment of selected cases of head and neck tumors.
authors.affiliation: First Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Tokyo Dental College, Chiba, Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shibahara
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Noma
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kakizawa
authors.forename: G Y
authors.initials: GY
authors.lastname: Yamane
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yajima
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takaki
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ide
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Tonogi
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Eguchi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000714:Anastomosis, Surgical / Q000379:methods; D003528:Carcinoma, Adenoid Cystic / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm; D005887:Gingival Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation* / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008833:Microcirculation; D008866:Microsurgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D009060:Mouth Floor / Q000601:surgery; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D011788:Quality of Life; D017568:Rectus Abdominis / Q000637:transplantation; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000379:methods* / Q000502:physiology; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000534:rehabilitation / Q000601:surgery; D016896:Treatment Outcome