Abstract
To manage oral defect following ablative cancer surgery the microvascular free tissue transfer is in fashion, and the bulkiness of such flaps usually poses concerns to both patients and surgeons after the operation, therefore, debulking procedures are usually in order. The suction lipectomy is the more common procedure than the other debulking procedures. Standard suction lipectomy procedure is usually using a small blunt-tip cannula, which can not adequately suck out the subdermal fat, due to the flap is relatively dense and compact in consistency. To resolve the inadequacy of this standard suction lipectomy procedure, we introduce the use of nonstandard open-tip cannula. In this study, we generated 204 patients, ranging in age from 35 to 69 years old, who underwent ablative surgery for oral squamous cell carcinoma from January 2001 to January 2005. All 204 patients had through-and-through oral defects and accepted free tissue transfer, however, because of the unsightly bulky appearance, 52 (25%) of them received a combination of both liposuction by open-tipped cannula and scar revision by w-plasty. We reported that the use of nonstandard open-tip cannula 10 mm or 8 mm in diameter for debulking lipectomy produced excellent cosmetic results with our patients in this study. We combined this technique with W-plasty scar revision at the same time. There is no partial or total flap necrosis noted in this one-stage operation and all patients were satisfied with the outcome.
Published Version
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