Ord R A
Department of Oral-Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Maryland Cancer Center, Baltimore, USA.
J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 1996 Nov;54(11):1292-5; discussion 1295-6. doi: 10.1016/s0278-2391(96)90484-x.
This article retrospectively reviews 50 consecutive pectoralis major flaps used in oral and maxillofacial reconstruction with respect to reliability and complications.
Fifty patients had reconstruction of postcancer resection defects of the oral cavity and maxillofacial region. The age and sex of the patients and site of defect were analyzed. The design of the pectoralis major flap and complications encountered were documented.
There were three cases (6%) of flap failure and an additional three cases (6%) in which 40% or more of the skin paddle sloughed. Orocutaneous fistula was rare. The use of an osteomyocutaneous flap with a rib gave poor results for mandibular reconstruction.
The pectoralis major flap is reliable, and the complications seen in this series were comparable to other large series in the literature. Despite the increased use of microvascular flaps, the pectoralis major flap remains an excellent reconstructive choice for large soft tissue defects in the oral cavity.
