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J Reconstr Microsurg 1998; 14(1): 49-55
DOI: 10.1055/s-2007-1006901
ORIGINAL ARTICLE

© 1998 by Thieme Medical Publishers, Inc.

Free Groin Flap for Reconstruction of the Tongue and Oral Floor

Ryuichi Murakami, Katsumi Tanaka, Kazuo Kobayashi, Tohru Fujii, Tohru Sakito, Masahide Furukawa, Toshimitsu Kobayashi, Kouichiro Shigeno
  • Departments of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Nagasaki University School of Medicine and National Nagasaki Central Hospital and Department of Otolaryngology, Nagasaki University School of Medicine, Nagasaki and Ohmura City, Japan
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Publication History

Accepted for publication 1997

Publication Date:
08 March 2008 (online)

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ABSTRACT

The authors report the use of free groin flaps to do ral defects in 24 patients following ablative tongue cancer surgery. The lateral thin portion of the flap was used for tongue reconstruction, and the deepithelialized medial thick portion for filling the mandibular defect and for covering the important vessels in the neck In lean patients, if the medial deepithelialized portion was too thin for adequate coverage, the proximal sartorius muscle was included to prevent postoperative orocervical fistula.

The advantages of the groin flap in reconstructing the tongue and oral floor after hemiglossectomy include the following: (1) a suitable amount of tissue is available for both the tongue and oral floor; the Important vessels in the neck may be protected with the flap; (3) the proximal sartorius muscle can be included with the flap, if necessary: (4) donor-site morbidity is less than with other flaps: and (5) flap elevation can be done concurrently with the hemiglossectomy and radical neck dissection.