Advantages of pectoralis musculocutaneous flap pharyngeal reconstruction.

Pharyngeal reconstruction commonly involves grafts or flaps. Recent reports have emphasized the advantages of skin graft reconstruction. The purpose of this paper is to assess the results of pharyngeal reconstruction with the pectoralis musculocutaneous flap following composite resection and neck dissection. Thirty-five patients who had predominantly advanced disease (88% stage IV) were treated in the Department of Otolaryngology at The Ohio State University. Oral diet was tolerated by 73.5% of the patients at the time of discharge. Of these, 80% were on a soft diet. Ultimately, 91% of the patients were able to tolerate an oral diet. The median hospital stay was 13 days. The estimated blood loss, blood replacement, complications, days to decannulation, and surgical time were analyzed. These results suggest that flap reconstruction leads to short hospitalization and provides an excellent opportunity for an oral diet.