Repair of tongue defect with submental artery island flap and free anterolateral thigh flap after resection of tongue cancer: A comparative analysis / 中华显微外科杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To compare and analyse the clinical outcome, advantages and disadvantages of submental artery island flap (SAIF) and free anterolateral thigh flap (ALTF) in the repair and reconstruction of tongue after radical surgery of tongue cancer.Methods:From January, 2016 to December, 2018, a total of 40 patients received tongue repair and reconstruction with either SAIF or ALTF after radical resection of tongue cancer. There were 28 males and 12 females, with an average age of 51 years old. Eighteen patients received tongue repair and reconstruction with SAIF and 22 with ALTF. Postoperative follow-up were carried out and the clinical data were collected. Swallowing, speech and softness of the tongue between the 2 repair methods were compared and statistically analysed. P<0.05 indicated a significant statistical difference between 2 groups. Results:All flaps survived. One ALTF had a venous vascular crisis. The flap survived after the removal of thrombus at the anastomotic site. Functional recovery of tongue was analysed after the follow-up of 12-48 months. It was found that there was no significant difference in speech function between the 2 groups (SAIF vs ALTF 13 vs 15, P=0.206). The swallowing dysfunction in SAIF group was significantly higher than that of the ALTF group (SAIF vs ALTF 15 vs 7, P=0.014). Moreover, the average time of surgery in SAIF group (3.5 h) was significantly less than that of the ALTF group (6.8 h), which had statistically significance ( P<0.05). Conclusion:The SAIF and ALTF are ideal flaps for repairing the tongue defect caused by tongue cancer surgery. SAIF features a simple surgical procedure and a short time for flap taking. ALTF provides sufficient amount of tissue to cover the scars left by the surgery, reduce donor site complications, and benefit the recovery of swallowing and speech functions.