Surgical Use of Supraclavicular Artery Flap for Head and Neck Cancer Defects Repair: Personal Experience

Abstract

Introduction For a long time, major surgical defects after oncological surgery have always been challenging cases for surgeons in terms of wound healing and covering technique. Objectives To demonstrate the feasibility of supraclavicular artery flap (SCAF) in the reconstruction of surgical defects in those “fragile” patients undergoing oncological surgery who could not possibly have endured the timeframes involved in using microvascular free flaps. Methods Between January 2018 and January 2019, at the Azienda Socio Sanitaria Territoriale (ASST) Bergamo Est Hospital (Bergamo, Italy), we reported the cases of 11 patients in whom the SCAF was used for surgical reconstruction after oncological surgery in our Otolaryngology Department. The median age of the 11 patients was 68.7 years old. Results The SCAF has proved, in almost all 11 cases in which it was used, to be very reliable and, above all, easy and quick to make in those “fragile” patients without the need for further intervention. There was only one case in which the resection involved the auricle entirely and a small area of perimeatal bone exposure occurred, which, anyway, healed by secondary intention. Conclusion The SCAF is an extremely versatile flap for head and neck surgery to be considered especially for fragile and vulnerable patients who cannot undergo prolonged surgical time. Moreover, this technique has also shown high feasibility in small hospitals where there is not a plastic surgery department and the surgeon may face the difficulty of practicing surgical reconstruction after enlarged resection.

Keywords

• surgical flaps
• reconstructive surgical procedures
• operative time