title: Oral cavity reconstruction with the masseter flap.
abstract: The purpose of this report is to highlight how an unusual, outdated, unpopular and overlooked reconstructive method such as the masseter flap can be a reliable, straightforward and effective solution for oral reconstruction in selected cases. We report the transposition of the masseter crossover flap in two previously pre-treated patients presenting a second primary oral squamous cell carcinoma; excellent functional results with satisfactory cosmetic appearance were obtained in both cases. In the literature, only 60 cases of oral cavity and oropharyngeal reconstructions using the masseter flap have been reported. The possible clinical utility of this flap, even in modern head and neck reconstructive surgery, is presented and discussed. We believe that the masseter flap should enter in the armamentarium of every head and neck surgeon and be kept in mind as a possible solution since it provides an elegant and extremely simple procedure in suboptimal cases for microvascular reconstruction.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Italy;|University Medical Center, Groningen, The Netherlands;
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mahieu
authors.affiliation: National Cancer Institute Giovanni Paolo II, Bari, Italy;
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Russo
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Italy;
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gualtieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Maxillo-facial Surgery, University of Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Colletti
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery and Translational Medicine, University of Florence, Italy;
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Deganello
mesh_terms: D002294:Carcinoma, Squamous Cell / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008406:Masseter Muscle / Q000637:transplantation*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009055:Mouth / Q000601:surgery*; D009059:Mouth Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D013524:Surgical Flaps
keywords: Masseter flap; Oral cavity reconstruction; Pedicled flap; Second primary tumor; Vessel depleted neck