The Application Of Platysma Myocutenous Flap For Reconstruction Of Buccal Defects Following Cancer Surgery

Purpose:To assess the reliability of the platysma myocutenous flap for reconstruction of buccal defects following cancer surgery.Methods:20 buccal defects were repaired with platysma myocutaneous flaps after resection of the buccal malignant tumor. Among them,13 patients were male and 7 patients were female, the age of the patients ranged from 38 years to 81 years, and the mean age was 56 years.2 patients were classified as T1 NoMo,5 as T2N0M0,3 as T3N0M0,2 as T3N1M0,1 as T3N2Mo,6 as T4NoMo,1 as T4N1M0.1 patient had preoperative radiotherapy and 17 patients accepted postoperative radiotherapy. The size of the playtsma myocutaneous flaps ranged from 3.5×3.0m2 to 6.5×6.0cm2.Results:The postoperative outcome of the platysma myocutaneous flaps was survival in 20 cases, including 15 cases without any complication,4 cases with partial necrosis, and lcase with infection. All patients were followed up from 3 months to 3.5 years. Most flaps were survived with satisfactory function and outline, without severe limited mouth opening, and the appearance of donor site was acceptable. And the postoperative radiotherapy did not increase the incidence of the complications.Conclusions:The platysma myocutaneous flap is harvested easily and rapidly. And the success rate is high and the rate of the complications is low. The functional and esthetic outcome is good. Postoperative radiotherapy do not affect the survival rates of the flap obviously. In conclusion the platysma myocutaneous flap has clinical value in reconstruction of small and medium-sized buccal defects after the resection of buccal malignant tumor.