Our treatment for maxillary defects after oral tumor resections has been to fill the defect with well-vascularized autogenous tissues in order to obtain good aesthetic and functional results.
This study evaluates postoperative functions in post-maxillectomy patients, who have had vascularized free tissue transfer （reconstruction group） or an obturator prosthesis （prosthesis group）. The patients were treated in the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at KyusKyushu Dental College for maxillary defects after oral tumor resection from January 2003 to December 2010. Seventy seven consecutive post-maxillectomy patients participated in this study. The prosthesis group consisted of sixty cases and the reconstruction group seventeen. The vascularized free tissue transfers were applied as free soft tissue transfers in nine cases and as vascularized scapular grafts, including lattissimus dorsi flaps, in eight cases.
We implemented this study to compare mastication, speech and deglutition performance using speech function scale, modified water swallowing test and questionnaires for the reconstruction and prosthesis groups.
