[Free rectus abdominis muscle perforating artery flaps for reconstruction of the head and neck defects]

During the past eight years, tissue defects of the head and neck region in a total of 45 patients were repaired with free rectus abdominis muscle perforating artery flaps. These flaps are subclassified into (1) reduced musculocutaneous flaps, (2) thin reduced musculocutaneous flaps, (3) paraumbilical perforator-based flaps, and (4) thin paraumbilical perforator-based flaps. The advantages of these flaps are as follows. Since the flaps involve no or only a small portion of the rectus abdominis muscle, (1) the muscle can be left intact on the abdominal wall, and (2) a thin flap can be easily created by simple defatting of the flap. These flaps overcome the major disadvantages of the conventional rectus abdominis musculocutaneous flap, i.e., bulkiness of the flap and frequent postoperative abdominal herniation. The territory of the thin flaps is within 10 cm around the perforator. These flaps are suitable for defects in the head and neck region, because simultaneous flap elevation is possible at the time of tumor resection. Paraumbilical perforator-based flaps are suitable for young females and elderly patients.