title: Oropharyngeal reconstruction with a pedicled submandibular gland flap.
abstract: Locoregional flaps are widely used for reconstruction of small and medium defects in the oral cavity. The submandibular gland flap is a pedicled flap, which derives its blood supply from the facial artery, based on the submandibular gland. We describe the use of the flap in 20 patients who required oropharyngeal reconstruction with a pedicled submandibular gland flap after resection of a tumour between July 2012 and October 2014. Patients with squamous cell carcinoma were excluded. All flaps were pedicled on the facial vessels (inferiorly in 17 patients and superiorly in 3). The indications were: reconstruction of intraoral mucosal defects (n=13), filling the parapharyngeal dead space (n=6), and obliteration of the mastoid (n=1). All the flaps atrophied, but with no clinical effect. One patient developed partial loss of the flap, and one early leakage. There were no cases of xerostomia, and no signs of recurrence during the postoperative follow-up period of 3-26 months. The flap is useful, as it is simple and reliable for reconstruction of small to medium oropharyngeal defects in carefully selected cases, and gives good cosmetic and functional results.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, 9th People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: mubarak198226@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Mubarak A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Mashrah
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, 9th People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: zhoushanghui@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Shang-Hui
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Craniomaxillofacial Surgery, Faculty of Dentistry, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt. Electronic address: cmf.abdelrehem@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Ahmed
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Abdelrehem
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, 9th People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: maxifama@163.com.
authors.forename: Chunyue
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, 9th People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: maxiliaxu@163.com.
authors.forename: Liqun
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, 9th People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: William5218@126.com.
authors.forename: Yue
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head & Neck Oncology, 9th People's Hospital, College of Stomatology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: zhang.chenping@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Chen-Ping
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D006801:Humans; D009062:Mouth Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D019651:Plastic Surgery Procedures; D013363:Submandibular Gland; D013524:Surgical Flaps
keywords: Oropharyngeal defects; Pedicled flap; Reconstruction; Submandibular gland