title: Reconstruction scalp defects after malignant tumor resection with anterolateral thigh flaps.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Some patients experience massive neglected scalp malignant tumors involving the soft tissues and bone. Management of these tumors includes thorough tissue resection to obtain negative margins and cover the defects with enough composite tissues. In this article, we presented our experiences of reconstructions with free anterolateral thigh (ALT) flaps.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a retrospective review of 6 patients who had a single-stage tumor removal and free-tissue transfer over the last 10 years. All the patients were treated with ALT flaps with or without fascia lata according to the defects.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The size of the flaps ranged from 8 to 25 cm in length and from 6 to 20 cm in width. All patients healed well without major complications except for 1 case that partial skin-graft loss occurred at the donor sites.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Scalp malignant tumors are generally associated with high mortality rates, and the reconstruction surgery is quite complicated. We demonstrate that free ALT flap transfer yields acceptable survival with favorable safety.
authors.affiliation: Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Hua Dong Hospital, Fu Dan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Bi
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bo
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Qun
authors.forename: Pu
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zheming
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Haitao
authors.forename: Liu
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tianyi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002280:Basal Cell Carcinoma / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012535:Scalp / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D013848:Thigh; D016896:Treatment Outcome