Reconstruction of large facial defects via excision of skin cancer by using mandibular flap

Abstract

Objective To explore the effect of the mandibular flap application on one-stage repairing facial large defects after resection of skin tumors. Methods Thirteen patients with malignant facial skin tumors were treated from June 2016 to June 2018 in Taizhou First Hospital department of Plastic Surgery. The lesion included zygomatic in 3 cases (including 2 cases of non-adjacent defects in zygomatic area), buccal area area in 2 cases, parotid masseter in 6 cases and compound area in 2 cases. Pathological findings included 8 cases of squamous cell carcinoma, 4 cases of basal cell carcinoma and 1 case of fibrosarcoma. Using Mohs method resect the skin tumor (Rapid pathology intraoperatively to ensure lesion was all removed ). According to the diameter and location of the defect, the mandibular Flap was used to repair the large scale defects in a one-stage operation. Results All mandibular Flap survived. During a follow-up period from 6 to 24 months, all patients obtained excellent functional and aesthetic result, and none had local recurrence. Conclusions The flexible application of mandibular Flap can basically solve the problem of repairing a large area of facial skin and soft tissue defect in zygomatic, buccal and parotid masseter of the face, which is one of the ideal methods to repair the tissue defects after resection of facial malignant tumor for the middle and old age. Key words: Mandibular Flap; Facial defect; Surgical flaps