title: Management of different kinds of head and neck defects with the submental flap for reconstruction.
abstract: Head and neck surgeries often accompany with moderate-sized defects that require time-consuming reconstructions by free flaps. The submental flap is a versatile and time-effective option for reconstruction of orofacial defects providing acceptable cosmetic and functional results without requiring microsurgical techniques. A retrospective case series study of patients who underwent reconstruction with the submental flap between 2009 and 2013 was conducted. There were 36 patients (33 men and 3 women), with a mean age of 56.4 years, enrolled in this study. The primary lesion sites included oral cavity (24 patients), pharynx (8 patients), larynx (2 patients), neck (1 patient) as well as maxillary sinus (1 patient). All flaps were harvested as the myocutaneous flaps. All donor sites were closed primarily without the need of additional surgery. No complete loss of the flap was encountered and two cases developed marginal necrosis of the flap. The submental flap had a reliable pedicle and had minimal donor-site morbidity. It is an excellent flap option for patients with small- to medium-sized defects in head and neck region.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, 325, Cheng-Kung Road, Sec. 2, Neihu district, Taipei, 114, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wan-Chun
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Science and Technology, Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Jinn-Moon
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, 325, Cheng-Kung Road, Sec. 2, Neihu district, Taipei, 114, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shao-Cheng
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, 325, Cheng-Kung Road, Sec. 2, Neihu district, Taipei, 114, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yueng-Hsiang
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, 325, Cheng-Kung Road, Sec. 2, Neihu district, Taipei, 114, Taiwan.|Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taichung Armed Forces General Hospital, Taichung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Wen-Sen
authors.initials: WS
authors.lastname: Lai
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Kaohsiung Veterans General Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Yaoh-Shiang
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Tri-Service General Hospital, National Defense Medical Center, 325, Cheng-Kung Road, Sec. 2, Neihu district, Taipei, 114, Taiwan. maplemeg@hotmail.com.|Department of Biological Science and Technology, Institute of Bioinformatics and Systems Biology, National Chiao Tung University, Hsinchu, Taiwan. maplemeg@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Jih-Chin
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002277:Carcinoma / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D006258:Head and Neck Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D064827:Myocutaneous Flap; D037981:Neck Dissection; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D012189:Retrospective Studies
keywords: Head neck defects; Reconstruction; Submental flap