Functional outcomes following mandibulectomy and fibular free-flap reconstruction.

There remains a paucity of evidence with regards to functional outcomes following the reconstruction of segmental defects in the mandible. It is, however, well recognised that oral rehabilitation following head and neck surgery is a driver of improved quality of life outcomes. We present a prospective service review of functional outcomes of a consecutive cohort of patients following segmental mandibulectomy and virtual surgical planning (VSP) composite fibular free-flap reconstruction. Twenty-five patients, who were identified as having a complete dataset with a minimum of 12 months' follow up, ultimately met the inclusion criteria. Validated functional outcome measures were used primarily to assess speech, diet, and swallowing outcomes. The results demonstrate a decline in both speech and swallowing outcomes at three months postoperatively, with a decline of 37% in the Speech Handicap Index from the preoperative baseline, and a decline of 35% in the MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory score over the same period. The MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory score improved at 12 months, whereas the Speech Handicap Index did not. Fundamentally a collaborative approach is required between members of the multidisciplinary team (MDT) to enable optimal patient outcomes.

Dosimetry-guided virtual surgical planning in the reconstruction of mandibular osteoradionecrosis.

Patients with osteoradionecrosis (ORN) of the mandible pose additional challenges to the attending clinician when it comes to major reconstructive head and neck surgery. We present a novel technique to assist in the virtual surgical planning of mandibular ORN, which involves deforming previously delivered radiation dosimetry data on to the virtual mandible to aid in the assessment of surgical resection margins. This is a retrospective case series of patients whose treatment involved a traditional virtual surgical planning approach or dosimetry-guided virtual surgical planning. All the patients whose treatment involved dosimetry-guided virtual surgical planning had evidence of bony consolidation between the native mandible and fibular free flap. In comparison, only three of the nine patients in the traditional virtual surgical planning group demonstrated bony healing on subsequent imaging. In this known cohort of difficult-to-manage patients, any technique that helps to improve outcomes is a welcome addition to the armamentarium of the surgeon.