['Rotary-door' sternohyoid myocutaneous flap for laryngotracheal reconstruction in clinical and experimental studies].

Six dogs were made a 2.5 x 1.5cm tracheal defect in the cervical trachea. The tracheal defect was closed with a combined rotary-door sternohyoid myocutaneous flap and costal cartilage graft. One dog died from infection at the 5th postoperative day. Five dogs were completely healthy survival and killed up at 3-14 months after the surgery for postmortem examination. The sternohyoid myocutaneous flap was found to be incorporated completely into the defect. No cicatricial stricture were found. The tracheal lumen was widely patent. Histologic studies showed that the epithelium of myocutaneous flap nearly completely became ciliated columnar epithelium at the 14th postoperative months. Seventeen patients were included in this study. Sixteen were reconstructed for laryngotracheal stenosis and one for immediate reconstruction after conservative laryngeal surgery for malignant transformation of laryngeal papilloma. All patients have been successfully decannulated and have normal exercise tolerance. This study demonstrated the procedure is a useful and reliable technique for severe laryngotracheal stenosis and for reconstruction after conservative laryngeal surgery.