Tongue replantation in an animal model

Although the tongue is not a vital organ in sustaining life, it may be a vi tal organ in sustaining the will to live in many people. As carcinoma of th e tongue represents the majority of the 30,000 oral cavity cancers diagnose d per year in the United States, many patients face the potential consequen ces of resection of part or all of the tongue for cure. To date, reconstruc tive options do not restore optimal tongue function including articulation, swallowing, taste, or sensation. With the ultimate goal of improving tongu e reconstruction, we report on a successfully performed autograft transplan tation of the tongue in an animal model. Before undertaking allograft trans plantation of the tongue, an autograft tongue transplant would be attempted to identify the feasibility of such a procedure and to determine the simil arity of an animal model with human techniques. The dog's neck, tongue, and oral anatomy represent an excellent animal model for tongue reconstruction . This procedure can be performed successfully in an animal model. The only previously published replantation of the tongue involved the reattachment of the anterior portion of a human tongue after physical trauma. To our kno wledge, the enclosed report represents the first successful total excision and replantation of the tongue in either a human or animal model. (C) 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.