Related Experiment Video
Updated: Sep 29, 2026

Coronoid-Temporalis Pedicled Flap for Orbital Floor Defect Reconstruction
Published on: December 5, 2025
Microsurgical tissue transfer for rehabilitation of the patient with cleft lip and palate
Harald Eufinger1, Egbert Machtens
1Department of Oral and Plastic Maxillofacial Surgery, Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany. harald.eufinger@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Objective:
Three case reports of microsurgically revascularized tissue transfer for secondary closure of complex oronasal fistulae in cleft lip and palate patients are reported. One scapular and two radial forearm flaps were used in that respect; the scapular flap was transferred without a skin paddle and was left for secondary epithelialization whereas iliac crest bone was transplanted in the two patients with the forearm flaps in a further surgical step.
Conclusions:
These microsurgical flaps represent solutions in selected cases of oronasal fistulae in patients with cleft lip and palate with extensive scarring, large defects, or both. Alternative free flaps of the vast spectrum available today, however, also deserve consideration.