[Comparison of lateral arm flap and radial forearm flap in reconstruction after oral cancer ablation].
OBJECTIVE
To compare the clinical application of lateral arm flap and radial forearm flap in reconstruction after oral cancer ablation.


METHODS
The clinical data of 21 cases with lateral arm flap and 104 cases with radial forearm flap between 2007 and 2009 were reviewed. The flap harvest time, flap survival rate, donor site morbidity and postoperative oral function were compared and analyzed.


RESULTS
The average flap harvest time of lateral arm flap and radial forearm flap were (46.4±7.6) min and (41.5±7.5) min (x±s) respectively. The flap survival rates of the two flaps were 90.5% (19/21) and 95.2% (99/104) respectively. There was no significant difference between the two flaps in the average flap harvest time and survival rate (P>0.05). The donor site of lateral arm flap could be primarily closed and radial nerve injury occurred in 2 patients. Skin graft was necessary for the donor site closure of radial forearm flap and conspicuous unattractive scar could be seen. All patients could have oral diet and no difficulty in speech intelligibility.


CONCLUSIONS
The lateral arm flap is relatively safe and reliable alterative to the radial forearm flap for the defects reconstruction after oral cancer ablation.
Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Peking University School and Hospital of Stomatology, Beijing 100081, China. pxpengxin@263.net
Xin
X
Peng
Chi
C
Mao
Yang
Y
Wang
Chuan-bin
CB
Guo
Guang-yan
GY
Yu
Min-xian
MX
Huang
Lei
L
Zhang
Yi
Y
Zhang
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D005542:Forearm / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery; D011184:Postoperative Period; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures / Q000379:methods; D016038:Skin Transplantation / Q000379:methods*; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D013524:Surgical Flaps; D055815:Young Adult