The lateral tongue flap: a salvage option for reconstruction of buccal recurrences.
BACKGROUND
Surgery in an irradiated, previously operated field is fraught with danger. Though microvascular tissue transfers are being gone, they may not be feasible in all circumstances.


METHODS
A lateral tongue flap was executed in 11 cases of intraoral buccal recurrence. The aims of this study were to evaluate the procedure, the function of the remaining tongue and the speed of rehabilitation with respect to preoperative functional status.


RESULTS
Out of 11 such reconstructions in a period of 12 months, only 1 flap had tip necrosis while a haematoma developed in 2 cases. Swallowing, speech, and tongue protrusion were not significantly hampered by the procedure. Patients were rehabilitated very quickly (within 2 weeks), to preoperative functional status.


CONCLUSIONS
The Lateral Tongue Flap is a simple, robust vascular transfer and an effective salvage reconstructive option in a post-excisional defect caused by a recurrent intraoral cancer.
Department of Plastic & Reconstructive Surgery, Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, India.
D
D
Cunha-Gomes
P
P
Joshi
H
H
Bhathena
N M
NM
Kavarana
D000368:Aged; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000601:surgery*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D014059:Tongue