L. Dupoirieux et al., Anatomical basis and results of the facial artery musculomucosal flap for oral reconstruction, BR J ORAL M, 37(1), 1999, pp. 25-28
The facial artery musculomucosal (FAMM) flap is a newly designed buccal muc
osal flap that was first described in 1992. The long rotational are of this
flap is particularly suitable for anterior palatal defects that are otherw
ise difficult to treat with local flaps. However, after the first clinical
reports, some controversies arose about the reliability of this flap, so we
conducted an anatomical study of the vascular pattern with a lates prepara
tion in 10 cadavers. We studied the variations of the course of the facial
artery and focused on the relationship between the facial artery and vein w
ithin the pedicle. We concluded that the flap is more an arterialized flap
than an axial-pattern flap, and have given anatomical landmarks to optimize
the survival rate. Our preliminary clinical results (five good results, on
e complete failure) are acceptable.