Reconstruction of intraoral defects after cancer surgery using cervical pedicle flaps

Purpose: This article reports the results of using cervical myocutaneous fl aps for reconstruction of small- and medium-sized oral defects. Patients and Methods: one hundred thirty-one cervical pedicle flaps were us ed for reconstruction of the defects after resection of oral cancer. Primar y sites of the lesions were the tongue, buccal mucosa, floor of the mouth, and lower gingiva. Results: Infrahyoid myocutaneous flaps were used in 53 cases, sternocleidom astoid flaps in 47 cases, and platysma flaps in 31 cases. Among the 131 pat ients, there was complete necrosis of the skin paddle in 5 cases and partia l necrosis in 7 cases. The success rate was 92.5%, 89.4%, and 90.3%, respec tively for the 3 types of flaps. Conclusions: It was concluded that cervical pedicle flaps have clinical val ue in selected patients needing reconstruction of small- and medium-sized d efects after intraoral cancer surgery. (C) 2001 American Association of Ora l and Maxillofacial Surgeons.