RESUMEN
Objective:To review our patients who underwent cranio-maxillofacial resection in the recent 10 years and explore the indication of the operation. Methods:From 2003 to 2013, 116 patients underwent cranio-maxillofacial resection in our department for the treatment of tumors involving the skull base. Tumors that involved the skull base were divided into 3 types according to skull base invasions shown in the coronal planes of CT and MRI scans. Type 1 tumor was adjacent to the skull base with free bone (n=45), type 2 tumor involved the skull base with intact dura (n=30), and type 3 tumor involved dura with free brain (n=41). All patients underwent cranio-maxillofacial resection by oral and maxillofacial surgeons and neurosurgeons. The defects after cranio-maxillofacial resection were reconstructed immediately with adjacent local or regional flaps (n=62) and free vascularized flap (n=54) according to different de-fects, respectively. Results:Cranio-maxillofacial resection was successfully performed in all patients. No intraoperative complication was found. The overall success rate of soft tissue flaps and free flaps was 98.3%and 96.4%, respectively. Three patients with intracrani-al infection (n=2) and bleeding in the internal carotid artery were dead postoperatively even though they underwent salvage surgery. The overall rate of complications was 14.7%, and the dead rate was 2.6%. Recurrence or distant metastasis was found in 36 patients dur-ing the follow-up period. Conclusion: For the indication of cranio-maxillofacial resection, the balance between tumor resection and postoperative function, survival rate, and quality of life should always be considered. This technique includes the balance between func-tion and form, survival and quality of life, donor and recipient sites, and primary and secondary functions.