Functional and aesthetic outcomes of pedicled temporalis muscle flap for mesostructure reconstruction

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to analyse the soundness of the Temporalis Muscle Flap as a safe and reliable flap to restore the aesthetic and functions of the facial mesostructure after its partial resection. Subjects were selected retrospectively and were invited to come to our outpatient clinic. Here, subjects completed a clinical evaluation in which the medical examiners evaluated the aesthetic outcome, the phonation, the ocular motility and the swallowing. Twenty-two subjects were enrolled in this study and completed the clinical evaluation. The mean value of the score obtained for the aesthetic outcome was 2.91 ± 0.92, slightly less than good. The VHI-30 questionnaire for voice evaluation obtained a mean score of 22.5 ± 11.5, pointing out minor voice problems. The mean value of the P-score evaluated during Fiberoptic Endoscopic Evaluation of Swallowing was 4.64 ± 0.95, highlighting the near absence of endoscopic signs of dysphagia. On the evaluation of ocular function, only one subject showed an inferior displacement of his right eyeball without vertical diplopia. The Temporalis Muscle Flap is a safe and reliable flap that can be used to reconstruct numerous surgical defects of the maxilla, giving an excellent recovery of physical aspect, phonation, and swallowing.

Keywords: Head and neck tumors; Maxilla; Mesostructure; Temporalis muscle flap.