[Evaluation of the articulator function in the hemi-tongue defect patients after radical tongue cancer resection and simultaneous reconstruction with forearm flap or primary close].
OBJECTIVE
To explore the effect of the patients' articulator function after reconstruction of hemi-tongue defect with forearm flap (FAP) or prime close (PC).


METHODS
36 patients who underwent hemiglossectomy were investigated after radical surgery for TSCC. 20 cases were reconstructed with FAP flaps and 16 with primary closure. The patients' articulator functions were evaluated by articulation tests. VS-9700 was used to analyze the speech character when they pronounce /ji/.


RESULTS
1) The speech articulation of patients who underwent hemi-tongue reconstruction with FAF was better than that of patients with PC, and there was significant difference between them (P < 0.05). 2) The first formant (F1) of /i/ of the PC group was lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05). But the second formant (F2) of the PC group was higher than that of the control group (P < 0.05). The first formant (F1) of /i/ of the FAF group was lower than that of the control group (P < 0.05), but there were no significant differences between FAF group and control group in F2 of /i/ (P > 0.05).


CONCLUSIONS
Articulator function can be well achieved by forearm flaps reconstruction to hemi-tongue defect patients.
Zhao
Xiao-Peng
XP
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, the Second Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China.
Pan
Chao-Bin
CB
Huang
Hong-Zhang
HZ
Zhang
Bin
B
Li
Jin-Song
JS
Wang
Jian-Guang
JG
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods; D016038:Skin Transplantation; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013536:Suture Techniques; D014062:Tongue Neoplasms / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000601:surgery*; D014833:Voice Quality