THE OSTEOCUTANEOUS UPPER ARM FLAP FOR MANDIBULAR RECONSTRUCTION

The authors present the osteocutaneous upper arm flap as useful in seg mental microsurgical mandibular reconstructions. This flap presents se veral advantages: easy and rapid dissection; a long and reliable pedic le; excellent segmental blood supply to the bone, allowing multiple os teotomies; remarkable mobility of the skin paddle relating to the unde rlying bone; and minimal donor-site morbidity Among its few disadvanta ges are that the bone is predominantly cortical, and the bone shaft ca nnot exceed 11 x 2 cm. Nevertheless, this flap is an excellent alterna tive to conventional procedures, when a segmental reconstruction, requ iring short bone segments and skin, is required. Eight consecutive cli nical cases have been successfully treated and are reported.