Clinical Application of Great Saphenous Vein Graft in the Oral and Maxillofacial Reconstruction

ABSTRACT

oral cavity defects. Many patients requiring composite reconstructions have been treated previously with radiation therapy, chemotherapy, selective and/or functional neck dissection or any of these combinations. In many cases of these patients, inadequate neck vessels for the microanastomosis of free flap are available, due to a lack of recipient vessels in the neck, poor vessel quality or vessel caliber mismatch. To achieve a tension-free anastomosis, vein grafting must be considered to span the vessel gap between the free flap pedicle and the recipient neck vessels. Although most microsurgeons believed that interpositional grafts are to be avoided due to vessel thrombosis and increased number of necessary microanastomosis, we, authors have some confidence of equivalency between reconstruction with and without interpositional saphenous vein graft. The great saphenous vein, also known as the long saphenous vein, is the large subcutaneous superficial vein of the leg and thigh. It joins with the femoral vein in the region of femoral triangle at the saphenofemoral junction, and coursed medially to lie on the anterior surface of the thigh before entering an opening in the fascia lata, called the saphenous opening. For a better understanding of the great saphenous vein graft for the interpositional vessel graft in the oral cavity reconstructions, and an avoidance of any uneventful complications during these procedures, the related surgical anatomies with their harvesting tips are summarized in this review article in the Korean language.