[The temporal muscle flap and palatal repair]

Two edentulous elderly women presented with benign but extensive tumors of middle third of face. The excision necessary for reasons of comfort and hygiene could not be envisaged unless the ineluctable vast palatine breach opened could be immediately repaired by surgery, any prosthetic solution being excluded. The use of a total temporal muscle flap, without zygoma section, provided an effective and comfortable solution to this both delicate and unusual problem. These cases illustrate the interest in the use of temporal muscle flaps in maxillofacial surgery, and their management for the repair of large palatine breaches.