Reconstruction Of Intraoral Defects After Resection Of Cancer With Contralateral Submental Artery Perforator Flap

Objects:Submental artery perforator flap(SMAPF)is a common choice for reconstruction of intraoral cancer postoperative defects.The flap is harvested with the ipsilateral submental artery of the defect.The purpose of this study is to to evaluate the outcome and value of contralateral submental artery perforator flap for oral cavity reconstruction after cancer ablation.Methods: From October 2018 to October 2019,the clinical data of 18 patients with intraoral defects after cancer resection were retrospectively studied,including 13 patients with floor of mouth cancer,3 patients with mandibular gingival cancer and 2 patients with oropharyngeal cancer.The pattern of neck dissection,flap size,number of perforating branches and the defect site were recorded.The patients were followed up after surgery for local and cervical cancer recurrence.Results: The flap size of 18 patients with this method ranged from 4cm × 6cm to 6.5cm ×15cm.All the flaps survived completely without necrosis or partial necrosis.There was no complication in the flap donor area.The number of perforators were 3.4 patient underwent ipsilateral modified radical neck dissection and contralateral selective neck dissection.No tumor recurrence occurred.The longest follow-up period was 15 months and no cancer recurrences.The postoperative scar in submental area is not obvious.Conclusion:The contralateral submental artery perforator flap is clinically feasible for thereconstruction of the intraoral postoperative defects after cancer resection.The scar of the donor site is hidden.The kind of flap has a high success rate in reconstruction of the intraoral defect.