Alʹmanah Kliničeskoj Mediciny (Dec 2017)
Experience of head and neck free flap reconstruction in children
Abstract
From 2015 to 2017, 14 surgical intervention for benign and malignant tumors of mandibular and maxillary regions, soft tissues in the temporal areas and extra organ soft tissue tumors of the head have been performed in the Department of Oncology and Pediatric Surgery of Dmitry Rogachev National Research Center of Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Immunology (Moscow). Simultaneous or delayed reconstructions were performed with a bone-muscle flap taken from the crista iliaca, with a fibular flap or a soft tissue radial flap. In all cases, the anastomoses were well-fixed and the flaps viable. The paper presents a clinical case of a 6-year old girl with a central gigantic cell granuloma of the mandibular body. The tumor was resected with a simultaneous reconstruction with a free fibular flap based on stereolythographic resection templates. By the time this paper was written, the duration of the follow-up exceeded 1.5 years. There is no relapse, the free flap is well-fixed and functional, and the child is socially adapted. Based on the radical resection of the primary tumor, preserved innervations of the chin soft tissues, full facial mimics and rapid social adaptation of the child, as well as functional preservation of the jaw and the possibility of oral nutrition, together with the possibility of prosthodontics in the post-operative period, we consider this treatment approach to be optimal for this case. The use of free flaps was highly optimal in all other cases as well, due to their advantages, such as highly radical resection, good functional and esthetic results, rapid social adaptation of children. We believe that wider indications for reconstruction with free flaps are very promising in pediatric practice.
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