Submental Artery Island Flap in Patients who Have Received Prior Neck Irradiation

Submental Artery Flap (SMAF) was first described in 1990 and has gained popularity ever since. However there has been relative paucity on information about the use of this flap in irradiated patients. Our aim was to explore the success of SMAF for reconstructing defects following oral cancer resection in this group of patients After prior approval from scientific and ethical committee, we performed a retrospective review of records of eleven patients who underwent SMAF reconstruction between March 2009 and September 2012. Seven patients (63 %) had undergone prior irradiation . The flap was viable in all the patients excepting for superficial epidermal loss in one patient who had undergone prior irradiation. There was major donor site complication in one, and recurrences in four patients, all in the irradiated group. SMAF may be used in patients with irradiated neck taking special precautions to avoid donor site morbidity. Previous neck irradiation may not affect flap viability.