title: Free groin flap for reconstruction of the tongue and oral floor.
abstract: The authors report the use of free groin flaps to close intraoral defects in 24 patients following ablative tongue cancer surgery. The lateral thin portion of the flap was used for tongue reconstruction, and the deepithelialized medial thick portion for filling the mandibular defect and for covering the important vessels in the neck. In lean patients, if the medial deepithelialized portion was too thin for adequate coverage, the proximal sartorius muscle was included to prevent postoperative orocervical fistula. The advantages of the groin flap in reconstructing the tongue and oral floor after hemiglossectomy include the following: (1) a suitable amount of tissue is available for both the tongue and oral floor; (2) the important vessels in the neck may be protected with the flap; (3) the proximal sartorius muscle can be included with the flap, if necessary; (4) donor-site morbidity is less than with other flaps; and (5) flap elevation can be done concurrently with the hemiglossectomy and radical neck dissection.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine and National Nagasaki Central Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fujii
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sakito
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Furukawa
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kobayashi
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Shigeno
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006119:Groin; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009060:Mouth Floor / Q000601:surgery*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014059:Tongue / Q000601:surgery*; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery