Folded Radial Forearm Free Flap for the Reconstruction of Total Soft Palate Defects: Operative Technique

Riccardo Nocini; Vittorio Favero; Gabriele Molteni; Valentina Pinto; Luigi Chiarini; Pier Francesco Nocini

doi:10.1097/GOX.0000000000004868

Folded Radial Forearm Free Flap for the Reconstruction of Total Soft Palate Defects: Operative Technique

Plast Reconstr Surg Glob Open. 2023 Mar 6;11(3):e4868. doi: 10.1097/GOX.0000000000004868. eCollection 2023 Mar.

Authors

Riccardo Nocini¹, Vittorio Favero², Gabriele Molteni¹, Valentina Pinto³, Luigi Chiarini⁴, Pier Francesco Nocini²

Affiliations

¹ Unit of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Department, University of Verona, Italy.
² Unit of Maxillo-Facial Surgery and Dentistry, Head and Neck Department, University of Verona, Italy.
³ Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Unit, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children & Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy.
⁴ Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Unit and Biomaterials Laboratory, Department of Medical and Surgical Sciences for Children & Adults, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy.

Abstract

The surgical plan to reconstruct the palate must be carefully prepared given the morphological peculiarity of the soft palate forming both the roof of the mouth and the floor of the nasal cavity. This article focuses on the use of folded radial forearm free flaps to manage isolated defects of the soft palate in the absence of tonsillar pillar involvement.

Methods: Three patients affected by squamous cell carcinoma of the palate underwent resection of the soft palate and immediate reconstruction with a folded radial forearm free flap.

Results: All three patients showed good short-term morphological-functional outcomes as far as swallowing, breathing, and phonation were concerned.

Conclusions: The folded radial forearm free flap seems to be an efficacious way to manage localized defects of the soft palate, given the positive outcomes of the three patients treated, and in accordance with other authors. In general, the radial forearm free flap was confirmed to be a versatile solution for those intraoral defects of the soft tissue requiring a limited quantity of volume as in the case of the soft palate.