One-stage reconstruction of facial paralysis associated with skin/soft tissue defects using latissimus dorsi compound flap

• Published in: Journal of plastic, reconstructive & aesthetic surgery reconstructive & aesthetic surgery, 2006-01, Vol.59 (5), p.465-473
• Main Authors: Takushima, Akihiko, Harii, Kiyonori, Asato, Hirotaka, Momosawa, Akira, Okazaki, Mutsumi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Biological and medical sciences; Ear, auditive nerve, cochleovestibular tract, facial nerve: diseases, semeiology; Esthetics; Facial Expression; Facial paralysis; Facial Paralysis - etiology; Facial Paralysis - surgery; Female; Head and Neck Neoplasms - surgery; Humans; Male; Medical sciences; Microsurgery; Microsurgery - methods; Middle Aged; Muscle, Skeletal - transplantation; Nervous system (semeiology, syndromes); Nervous system as a whole; Neurology; Neurovascular free muscle transfer; Non tumoral diseases; Otorhinolaryngology. Stomatology; Parotid Neoplasms - surgery; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures - methods; Smiling; Soft tissue defect; Surgery (general aspects). Transplantations, organ and tissue grafts. Graft diseases; Surgical Flaps; Treatment Outcome
• ISSN: 1748-6815; 1878-0539
• DOI: 10.1016/j.bjps.2005.10.011

Neurovascular free muscle transfer is now the mainstay for smile reconstruction in the treatment of established facial paralysis. Since facial paralysis due to ablative surgery or some specific disease sometimes accompanies defects of the facial skin and soft tissue, simultaneous reconstruction of defective tissues with facial reanimation is required. The present paper reports results for 16 patients who underwent reconstruction by simultaneous soft tissue flap transfer with latissimus dorsi muscle for smile reconstruction of the paralysed face. Soft tissue flaps comprised skin paddle overlying the latissimus dorsi muscle ( n=6), serratus anterior musculocutaneous flap ( n=5), serratus anterior muscle flap ( n=2), and latissimus dorsi perforator-based flap with a small muscle cuff ( n=3). The latissimus dorsi muscle can be elevated as a compound flap of various types, and thus offers the best option as a donor muscle for facial reanimation when soft tissue defects require simultaneous reconstruction.