Immediate maxillary reconstruction after malignant tumor extirpation.
OBJECTIVE
Immediate maxillary reconstruction after malignant tumor extirpation differs from other types of maxillary reconstruction. Our reconstruction algorithm is described in this article.


METHODS
One hundred ninety-four patients who had undergone maxillectomy for malignant tumors were reviewed, and maxillectomy defects were classified with the method of Cordeiro and Santamaria.


RESULTS
Mean total blood loss was 848 ml, and 71 patients died within 2 years after surgery. For type IIIa defects of the orbital floor, titanium mesh or vascularized bone or cartilage was used for reconstruction, but the rate of postoperative complications did not differ between titanium and autografts. Therefore, to reconstruct orbital floor defects we have recently used only titanium mesh. For type I or II defects, we use autografts for only selected cases.


CONCLUSIONS
We strive to perform less-invasive reconstructive surgery after resection for maxillary malignancy.
Sarukawa
S
S
Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Head and Neck Surgery, National Cancer Center Hospital East, Chiba, Japan. fwkc8662@mb.infoweb.ne.jp
Sakuraba
M
M
Asano
T
T
Yano
T
T
Kimata
Y
Y
Hayashi
R
R
Ebihara
S
S
D000368:Aged; D000465:Algorithms; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008441:Maxillary Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000601:surgery; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D016896:Treatment Outcome