Microsurgical reconstruction of the head and neck: interdisciplinary collaboration between head and neck surgeons and...

Three hundred five microsurgical free flaps have been performed for defects of the head and neck by a team of two head and neck surgeons and two plastic surgeons over a 9-year period, with a success rate of 91.2%. The most common flaps used were the jejunum (89), radial forearm (57), rectus abdominis (48), latissimus dorsi (40), scapular (32), fibula (15), and iliac crest (11). Thirty-three flaps required reexploration for anastomotic thrombosis or hematoma (10.8%), of which 18 flaps were salvaged (54.5%). Thirteen flap failures occurred in 113 patients who had received preoperative irradiation (11.5%), but this was not statistically significant. Seven flaps failed in 20 patients who required an interposition vein graft (35%) and this was statistically significant. Ninety patients (31.5%) developed a major complication other than anastomotic thrombosis or death. Despite postoperative intensive care nursing and monitoring, 18 patients died postoperatively in the hospital (6.3%). The average hospital stay was 21.1 days with a range from 5 to 95 days. During this 9-year time period, various free flaps have evolved as the preferred choice for free flap reconstruction of a specific defect of the head and neck. The latissimus dorsal muscle flap surfaced with a nonmeshed split-thickness skin graft is the optimal free flap for reconstruction of the scalp and skull, whereas a multiple-paddle latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous flap is the best flap for reconstruction of complex defects of the middle third of the face and maxilla. The radial forearm flap and free jejunal transfer have become the preferred choices for intraoral reconstruction and pharyngo-esophageal reconstruction, respectively. There still remains no universally accepted flap for mandibular reconstruction, but the fibular osteocutaneous flap and a reconstruction plate protected by a radial forearm flap have largely superseded the iliac crest and scapular osteocutaneous flaps. Radical resection of tumors of the head and neck with immediate reconstruction by microsurgical free tissue transfer followed by adjuvant radiation therapy provides the best possible chance for cure and functional and social rehabilitation of the patient.