Abstract
We studied 18 patients with maxillofacial defects, who had undergone reconstructive surgery at our clinic from January 1985 to October 1991.
The patients included 11 male and 7 female (male/female ratio: 1, 57: 1), with the age the at first examination ranging from 25 to 82 (average: 52.8 years) .
All cases were immediately reconstructed, and 14 cases had preoperative radiotherapy or chemotherapy.
Primary diseases were squamous cell carcinoma (14), liposarcoma (1), rhabdomyosarcoma (1), malignant ameloblastoma (1), and ameloblastoma (1) .
When classified by the reconstruction sites, there were 11 cases with reconstruction of soft tissue only, 6 cases of mandible only, and 4 cases of mandible and soft tissue.
The reconstruction of soft tissue only was successfully performed by D-P flap in 4 cases, cervical island flap in one case, and forearm flap in 2 cases.
The reconstruction of mandible was successful in one case, where iliac crest was used, and in another case where vascularized osteocutaneous scapular flap was used while the reconstruction including soft tissue was successfully performed by vascularized osteocutaneous scapular flap in one case.
The reconstruction of soft tissue yields satisfactory results by both pedicle and free flaps if proper consideration is given to the reconstruction site and range, whereas the above results suggest that vascularized osteocutaneous free flap may be recommended for the reconstruction of relatively severe defects including mandible and soft tissues.
