ORIGINAL ARTICLE   

European Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery 2019 April;3(1):1-6

DOI: 10.23736/S2532-3466.18.00154-6

Copyright © 2018 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Role of fasciocutaneous supraclavicular artery flap in reconstruction of the maxillofacial soft tissue defects

Muhammad FAROOQ ¹, Tahirullah KHAN ², Zafar A. KHAN ³ ✉, Zahid QAYYUM ⁴, Riaz A. WARRAICH ⁵

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Bannu Medical College, Bannu, Pakistan; ² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar, Pakistan; ³ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Frontier Medical and Dental College, Abbottabad, Pakistan; ⁴ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, Pakistan; ⁵ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, King Edward Medical University/Mayo Hospital, Lahore, Pakistan

BACKGROUND: Maxillofacial soft tissue defects have many causes and the resulting functional and esthetic defects are addressed out of necessity to improve quality of life. Simplicity of procedure, best functional and esthetic outcome and least possible donor site morbidity are the minimum requirements of a good reconstruction option. The supraclavicular-artery-based flap is an extremely reliable local flap. Its thin pliable skin gives good color and texture match for the maxillofacial region, with minimal donor site morbidity. The purpose of this study was to determine the role of supraclavicular artery flap in maxillofacial soft tissue reconstruction.
METHODS: This study was carried out on thirty patients with soft tissue defects in maxillofacial region. At postoperative visits, they were evaluated for functional and cosmetic outcomes and donor site morbidity.
RESULTS: A 93.3% success rate was found in this study while 6.7% of the cases showed distal necrosis. Almost all of the patients were satisfied with their cosmetics in the last follow-up visits. Movements of the shoulder of the donor site and mouth opening at the recipient site were in the normal range. Donor site was primarily closed in 23 cases and there was no hypertrophic scar.
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study seem to suggest that fasciocutaneous supraclavicular artery flap can be considered as a useful reconstructive option in the shallow defects of the lower third of the face.

KEY WORDS: Surgical flaps - Soft tissue injuries - Reconstructive surgical procedures - Oral surgical procedures