Frontiers in free flap reconstruction in the head and neck

This chapter describes the state of the art in head and neck free flap reconstruction and will stress some of its major deficits. It will also discuss some of the most promising frontiers in reconstruction, including tissue engineering and composite allotransplantation. The true frontiers of reconstruction need to be refined at the cellular level where tissue engineered from the individual cells and manipulation of the patient's immune system will potentially allow allotransplantation without affecting rates of cancer cure.