title: Buccinator musculomucosal flap: applications in intraoral reconstruction.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the use of the buccinator musculomucosal flap in the reconstruction of defects of the oral cavity and oropharynx.
  
  
  METHODS
  Prospective case series of 8 patients during a 1-year period with an average follow-up of 1 year. Six anatomical dissections were performed on 3 fresh cadaver heads to investigate the neurovascular supply to the flap.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic tertiary referral medical center.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The buccinator musculomucosal flap was used in the reconstruction of 8 defects of the oral cavity, retromolar trigone, and soft palate. There was 1 partial flap necrosis that occurred in a patient who had previously received radiation therapy and who healed secondarily without sequelae. No patient experienced difficulties with mastication or oral competence. All patients reported light single-point touch sensation over the flap 2 weeks after surgery. Cadaveric dissections using latex or india ink injections demonstrated the posterior neurovascular supply from the buccal artery, a branch of the internal maxillary artery, and the buccal nerve, a branch of the mandibular nerve.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The buccinator musculomucosal flap is a dependable local sensate flap with a well-defined neurovascular pedicle that can be used in a variety of intraoral reconstructions obviating the need for distal tissue harvest.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Boston University School of Medicine, Mass, USA.
authors.forename: G R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Licameli
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dolan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002610:Cheek / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000098:blood supply; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D009960:Oropharynx / Q000601:surgery; D011446:Prospective Studies; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013524:Surgical Flaps