Treatment of a mastoid defect by free anterolateral thigh flap

Free anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap constitutes an alternative to latissimus dorsi and radial forearm flaps for head and neck reconstruction. The authors report a case of mastoid reconstruction in a patient with multi-operated cholesteatoma associated with tubal dysfunction.

This patient presented a fistula of the lateral semicircular canal and invagination of retroauricular soft tissues responsible for non-compensated almost complete areflexia with anacusis. She did not present any signs of cholesteatoma recurrence, but chronic inflammation of the mastoidectomy cavity. The head and neck procedure consisted of translabyrinthine labyrinthectomy: resection of the atrophic retroauricular skin, resection of the vestibular neurosensory tissue and obliteration of the mastoidectomy cavity. An ALT flap measuring 5×5 cm, anastomosed to the superior thyroid artery and facial vein, was used to cover the defect. Careful defatting of the flap allowed filling of the defect, while providing a sufficient quantity of appropriate tissue. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was considerably improved. The only donor site sequelae consisted of a thin linear scar.

The free anterolateral thigh flap, a reliable, polyvalent flap that can be shaped as needed and which is associated with minimal donor site morbidity, constitutes a good alternative for head and neck reconstruction.