Two Cases of Tunneled Supraclavicular Island Flap for Head and Neck Reconstruction / 대한이비인후과학회지

ABSTRACT

Reconstruction in the head and neck region uses a wide range of surgical flaps for defect closure. The methods range from local, mostly myocutaneous flaps, and skin grafts to free microsurgical flaps. Reconstructive surgery must conserve the appearance and mimic the original function. Moreover, the donor-site defect needs to be reduced, with no resulting functional or aesthetic impairment. To achieve these goals, a thin reliable flap that is close to the face and neck region with a good match of the skin texture and a smooth, hairless skin surface is needed. So we used a flap from the shoulder region which provides an optimum skin texture to match the neck and face. This supraclavicular flap is a fasciocutaneous island flap, which has a vascular pedicle extending from the transverse cervical artery with two accompanying veins. Moreover, the tunneling method improves the donor site by reducing scarring. We hereby introduce the anatomic characteristics and effectiveness of this method.