Superficial Circumflex Iliac Artery Perforator-Free Flaps in Head and Neck Reconstruction: A Report on 10 Cases

Abstract

Abstract The superficial circumflex iliac artery flap or as it was traditionally called the groin flap has gained a growing interest recently with the concept of perforators that revolutionized our understanding of many other classic flaps like the deep inferior epigastric artery, the thoracodorsal artery-based flaps, and many others. This revisiting process was brought about by further deeper knowledge of the anatomy of these flaps at finer levels. These advances made it possible to raise flaps with minimal donor site morbidities as well as to expand the applications for certain flaps to include different tissue components that serve the reconstructive needs better. Recent studies investigated its vascular supply, and a refined approach was adopted for using it in reconstruction. Another factor for revisiting this flap, is the lymph nodes that lie in its territory that may be used for lymph node transplant in lymphedema cases. Our objective from this report on 10 cases, is to display the flexibility and uses of the superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator (SCIP) free flap. We utilized the SCIP flap for ten sequential patients between November 2019 to August 2020 that were reconstructed with primary or secondary reconstruction in the head and neck region. All were performed by the same primary surgeon and his team. The serial cases incorporated 6 females and 4 males with a mean age of 51.5 years (range 16–80 years). In two cases, this flap was designed in a chimeric fashion including a bony segment from the iliac crest. In conclusion, we have found that the superficial circumflex iliac artery perforator flap has a reliable anatomy which facilitates a fast and easy dissection. Among others, this flap has shown that it has a strong advantage since it displayed minimal donor site morbidity.