THE ANATOMIC BASIS FOR THE INNERVATED MYLOHYOID DIGASTRIC FLAP IN FACIAL REANIMATION/

This paper describes the anatomy of the neurovascular supply to the my lohyoid and digastric muscle and its potential use for a regional tran sposition to rehabilitate the paralyzed face and soft-tissue coverage in the head and neck area. The anatomy and the arc of rotation of this flap were determined in ten embalmed cadavers. To further demonstrate the vascular supply, the common carotid was injected with silicone in four additional fresh cadavers. In all specimens, the submental arter y and the mylohyoid nerve were the sole contributors to the neurovascu lar supply of the mylohyoid and digastric muscle. The arc of rotation was an average of 5 cm (range 4 to 6.5 cm), which allowed the flap to be positioned appropriately between the zygomatic arch and the modiolu s. From this anatomic study, the mylohyoid/digastric flap has a long e nough neurovascular pedicle to be useful in facial reanimation and sof t-tissue coverage in the head and neck area.