Application of tensor fascia lata perforator flap in head and neck reconstruction

L Wang; C Ma; Y Shen; T W Haugen; Y He; J Sun

doi:10.1016/j.ijom.2024.01.004

Application of tensor fascia lata perforator flap in head and neck reconstruction

Int J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2024 Jan 15:S0901-5027(24)00005-5. doi: 10.1016/j.ijom.2024.01.004. Online ahead of print.

Authors

L Wang¹, C Ma¹, Y Shen², T W Haugen³, Y He¹, J Sun¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Oral and Maxillofacial - Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China.
² Department of Oral and Maxillofacial - Head and Neck Oncology, Shanghai Ninth People's Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China. Electronic address: shenyi777@126.com.
³ Department of Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Geisinger Medical Center, Danville, PA, USA.

PMID: 38228464
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijom.2024.01.004

Abstract

The aim of this study was to describe the authors' experience in head and neck reconstruction with the tensor fascia lata perforator flap (TFLPF). Between April 2009 and August 2020, 16 patients underwent head and neck reconstruction with a TFLPF. The flaps were designed in a vertical or transverse fashion based on perforators traveling along the medial or lateral aspect of the posterior edge of the tensor fascia lata muscle. Clinical details and postoperative results were recorded and analyzed. The size of the flap ranged from 7 × 5 cm² to 25 × 9 cm². The perforators were mostly septocutaneous (11 patients), allowing a simple and straightforward dissection of the perforator and TFLPF in most patients. There were either one or two perforators in all cases. The overall flap survival rate was 100%. All of the flaps healed uneventfully with no delayed wound healing or donor site dysfunction. Follow-up ranged from 18 to 120 months, during which all patients experienced satisfactory functional and aesthetic results, without serious complications at either the recipient or donor site. The TFLPF is a pliable and reliable flap that could be a first choice in selected head and neck reconstruction cases.

Keywords: Free tissue flaps; Head and neck cancer; Microsurgery; Perforator flap; Reconstructive surgery; Trauma.