[The role of microsurgery in the reconstruction of loss of substance of soft tissue in the maxillofacial region].

Reconstruction of oncological defects in the maxillofacial region still remains a real surgical challenge due to the complexity and the tridimensional aspect of these defects responsible for heavy functional impairment. Microsurgery allowing the transfer of free flaps gives the surgeon the opportunity to adapt a specific reconstruction to each defect and to reinsert the patient in a quasi normal social life. These reconstruction technics are routinely used in many centers; they must be integrated in our therapeutic arsenal and in the training of the maxillofacial surgeon. Seven years ago, we incorporated microsurgical reconstruction in our therapeutical concepts and today, it seems to us important to share our experience of microsurgical reconstruction in the field of soft tissues defects in the maxillofacial region.