TY - JOUR
T1 - Resurgence of regional flaps for head and neck reconstruction
AU - Gray, Mingyang L.
AU - Drake, Virginia E.
AU - Desai, Shaun C.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Lippincott Williams and Wilkins. All rights reserved.
PY - 2021/8/1
Y1 - 2021/8/1
N2 - Purpose of reviewThe strain on healthcare resources in light of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many head and neck surgeons to explore reconstructive options that may decrease length of stay. Here, we review three common and versatile regional flaps used in head and neck reconstruction that are comparable alternatives to free tissue transfer.Recent findingsInitial anatomic descriptions of the facial artery musculocutaneous (FAMM) flap, the supraclavicular artery island flap and the submental artery island flap were published decades ago. Since then, many have proposed modifications to these descriptions to improve technical ease and patient outcomes. Benefits of regional flaps include ease of harvest, comparable outcomes to free tissue microvascular flaps, shorter operative time and hospital length of stay. Drawbacks to regional flaps include limitations to size and reach, partial necrosis, wound dehiscence and surgeon experience. The integrity of the vascular pedicle is also contingent upon vessel preservation during the cancer ablation.SummaryAlthough a resurgence of regional flaps began well before the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions began looking for alternatives to free flap reconstruction to conserve healthcare resources and minimize patient hospitalization time in the past year. There has been a revival of regional flaps such as the FAMM, supraclavicular and submental flaps that are valuable reconstructive options for many defects of the head and neck.
AB - Purpose of reviewThe strain on healthcare resources in light of the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many head and neck surgeons to explore reconstructive options that may decrease length of stay. Here, we review three common and versatile regional flaps used in head and neck reconstruction that are comparable alternatives to free tissue transfer.Recent findingsInitial anatomic descriptions of the facial artery musculocutaneous (FAMM) flap, the supraclavicular artery island flap and the submental artery island flap were published decades ago. Since then, many have proposed modifications to these descriptions to improve technical ease and patient outcomes. Benefits of regional flaps include ease of harvest, comparable outcomes to free tissue microvascular flaps, shorter operative time and hospital length of stay. Drawbacks to regional flaps include limitations to size and reach, partial necrosis, wound dehiscence and surgeon experience. The integrity of the vascular pedicle is also contingent upon vessel preservation during the cancer ablation.SummaryAlthough a resurgence of regional flaps began well before the COVID-19 pandemic, many institutions began looking for alternatives to free flap reconstruction to conserve healthcare resources and minimize patient hospitalization time in the past year. There has been a revival of regional flaps such as the FAMM, supraclavicular and submental flaps that are valuable reconstructive options for many defects of the head and neck.
KW - facial artery musculomucosal flap
KW - head and neck reconstruction
KW - local flaps
KW - regional flaps
KW - submental island artery flap
KW - supraclavicular artery island flap
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111789013&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85111789013&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1097/MOO.0000000000000725
DO - 10.1097/MOO.0000000000000725
M3 - Review article
C2 - 34109945
AN - SCOPUS:85111789013
SN - 1068-9508
VL - 29
SP - 237
EP - 243
JO - Current Opinion in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
JF - Current Opinion in Otolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery
IS - 4
ER -