[Use of polyglactin 910 mesh with collagen in the prevention of pharyngostomes]

The use of the collagen-coated Polyglactine 910 mesh is proposed as a preventive treatment of pharyngostomes in extensive pharyngolaryngectomies for necrotized hypopharyngeal tumors. The good results obtained in this series of 12 cases may be explained by a distribution of stress in the pharyngeal sutures, associated to a decrease in the stress exerted on the tight mucosal suture, as well as a sliding-rotating effect of the pharyngeal muscular suture, which is thus displaced relative to the plane of the mucosal suture. This original technique seems to be fully effective during the first two postoperative weeks, and may greatly help in the prevention of the dangerous pharyngostomes during the postoperative period following extensive pharyngeal resections.