Pterygoid dissections for extensive cancer. An old concept revisited

We present a series of 14 consecutive patients who received radical en bloc resections of the pterygoid and subtemporal fossa. After a median follow-up of 20 months it appears that local control has been achieved in 10 of them (71 percent), certainly an encouraging result. The addition of postoperative radiation therapy has probably contributed to this local control, and immediate reconstruction with a deltopectoral flap has improved the postoperative appearance.