Flap hitching technique to the teeth after oral cancer resection

After resection of the tumors of oral cavity adjacent to the mandible, it is a common situation that the whole of one side of the gingival mucosal segment has to be stripped off the mandible to get an adequate margin. When a cutaneous flap is used for reconstruction, it has to be hitched to the teeth to get a watertight seal. We describe a technique to hitch the flap to the adjacent teeth in such an instance.

The technique was applied in 10 patients with oral cancer, resected, and reconstructed with cutaneous flaps.

The technique was found to be effective in all 10 patients. Adequate seal was obtained in all patients. Oral diet was started within 7 days.

An effective and simple technique to approximate a cutaneous flap to the teeth-bearing mandible, when all the mucosa is removed as part of oncological resection, is reported.