THE STERNOCLEIDOMASTOID MYOCUTANEOUS FLAP - A REAPPRAISAL

The sternocleidomastoid myocutaneous flap was described 40 years ago, However, its reliability has been a matter of discussion, mainly becau se of its random blood supply and subsequent tendency; to necrosis, Th is paper describes the use of the sternocleidomastoid island myocutane ous flap, superiorly based, in 10 patients with good results, In these patients, the superior thyroid artery was sacrificed and the skin pad dle-was incised directly over the muscle, as described by Ariyan, We b elieve this approach assures the usefulness of the flap and justifies its expanded utilization.