title: Use of the internal mammary vessels as recipient vessels for an omental flap in head and neck reconstruction.
abstract: The availability of reliable recipient vessels for free flap transfer in head and neck reconstruction may be limited in cases of prior neck dissection or radiation therapy. One solution is to use the internal mammary vessels as recipients for a free omental flap. Five patients were treated with free omental flap transfer using the internal mammary vessels as recipient vessels during head and neck reconstruction. Two patients presented with a pharyngocutaneous fistula, 1 had mandibular osteomyelitis, 1 had primary esophageal cancer, and 1 had bilateral cervical radiation ulcers. All patients had received radiation therapy previously (average dose, 75.4 Gy), and 4 had undergone neck dissection (3 bilateral and 1 ipsilateral). All patients were reconstructed using a free omental flap. Four patients had a second free flap combined with the free omental flap (3 free jejunal flaps and 1 free fibular osteocutaneous flap). The mean follow-up was 26.4 months. All free flaps took entirely, the only complication ileus requiring reoperation in 1 patient. The internal mammary vessels are reliable recipient vessels for a free omental flap in head and neck reconstruction. This procedure is a good option for patients in whom previous surgery or radiation therapy has compromised local recipient vessels.
authors: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan. yagishun@med.nagoya-u.ac.jp
authors: Shunjiro
authors: S
authors: Yagi
authors: Yuzuru
authors: Y
authors: Kamei
authors: Yasushi
authors: Y
authors: Fujimoto
authors: Shuhei
authors: S
authors: Torii
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006257:Head / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008323:Mammary Arteries; D008875:Middle Aged; D009333:Neck / Q000601:surgery*; D009852:Omentum / Q000098:blood supply / Q000637:transplantation*; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps / Q000098:blood supply*