Pharyngo-oesophageal reconstruction by myocutaneous flaps

With the progressive development of ablative surgery of pharyngolaryngeal cancer in recent decades, the demands for an effective one-stage pharyngo-oesophageal reconstruction have spawned a wide variety of imaginative techniques. The pectoralis major myocutaneous flap has proven to be the most effective for immediate reconstruction of the cervical oesophagus after pharyngolaryngectomy in which the inferior limit of resection is at most 3 cm below the oesophageal orifice. This reconstruction may be circumferential, partially circumferential or only partial in the case of large pharyngostomas.