Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, United Kingdom.
J Plast Reconstr Aesthet Surg. 2022 Jul;75(7):2084-2089. doi: 10.1016/j.bjps.2022.02.038. Epub 2022 Feb 26.
Delays to postoperative radiotherapy (PORT) are frequent and associated with poorer oncologic outcomes in head and neck cancer (HNC) patients. Free flap patients have been suggested as the most at-risk group. Thus, PORT delivery experienced by HNC patients who required a free flap reconstruction was analysed, identifying reasons for the delays if any.
A retrospective analysis of a single tertiary unit's PORT delivery to HNC patients undergoing major resection followed by free flap reconstruction between 2017 and 2020.
Eighty-seven patients were identified. Thirty-two patients received PORT within 6 weeks of their surgery date. Reasons for the delays could be categorised into surgery-derived, system-derived and patient-derived reasons. Five patients (5.74%) received PORT >6 weeks after their surgery due to surgical complications. No patients experienced surgical complications during their PORT.
In our experience, surgical aspects of free flap reconstructions do not appear to overtly delay or interrupt PORT.
头颈部癌症（HNC）患者术后放疗（PORT）延迟较为常见，且与较差的肿瘤学结果相关。游离皮瓣患者被认为是风险最高的群体。因此，分析了需要游离皮瓣重建的 HNC 患者的 PORT 治疗情况，确定了如果存在延迟的原因。
对 2017 年至 2020 年间在一家三级单位接受大切除后行游离皮瓣重建的 HNC 患者的 PORT 治疗进行回顾性分析。
共确定了 87 例患者。32 例患者在手术日期后 6 周内接受了 PORT。延迟的原因可分为手术相关、系统相关和患者相关的原因。5 例患者（5.74%）因手术并发症而在手术后 6 周后接受 PORT。没有患者在 PORT 期间发生手术并发症。
根据我们的经验，游离皮瓣重建的手术方面似乎并没有明显延迟或中断 PORT。
