Head and neck reconstruction using microsurgery: a 9-year retrospective study

A total of 137 patients diagnosed with head and neck cancer underwent ablative surgery and primary free flap reconstruction during a period of 9 years, 2001-2009 (men 73.7 %, women 26.3 %). Surgery included a multidisciplinary approach involving plastic, head and neck, and maxillofacial surgeons. Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represented the vast majority of the diagnosed tumors (91.2 %); other tumors represented in the study were malignant melanoma, sarcoma, adenocarcinoma and blastoma. The free flaps (n = 143) used for reconstructive surgery included radial forearm flap (n = 128), fibular flap (n = 13) and rectus abdominis muscular flap (n = 2). Twenty patients (15 %) needed reoperation within 48 h due to clinical signs of hematoma (n = 8) and free flap ischemia (n = 12). Furthermore, we report a total of 12 free flap failures, giving an overall free flap success rate of 92 %. Five patients were treated due to infections at donor site (4 %). The overall survival rate (OS) in male patients diagnosed with oral SCC stage II-IV after 2 and 5 years was 82 and 78 %, respectively. Female patients in the same group displayed a 2- and 5-year OS of 78 and 67 %, respectively. Furthermore, analysis of patients treated for recurrence of primary SCC displayed a 2- and 5-year OS of 70 and 55 %, respectively. We conclude that our multidisciplinary approach and treatment algorithm for head and neck cancer including primary free flap reconstruction reconstitutes a safe and reliable tool.