Experience of using a supraclavicular flap in reconstruction of oral cavity defects

Introduction. In case of cancer of the oral mucosa at the first stage, the standard treatment approach is radical surgical intervention, with the formation of extensive defects leading to aesthetic and functional disorders. Taking into account the characteristics of defects, choosing a flap is a difficult task. Currently, there is a wide selection of regional and microvascular free flaps. However, not all flaps meet the requirements. The supraclavicular fasciocutaneous flap, being a regional flap, has a number of advantages: easy to harvest, reliable due to the constancy of the vascular pedicle, primary closure of the donor site, scarcity of hair, the possibility of closing various defects of the oral cavity.

 Aim. To evaluate the possibility of using a supraclavicular flap in patients with oral cancer to restore the defects after surgical treatment.

Materials and methods. The study included 10 patients with malignant tumors of the oral cavity who underwent surgical intervention with defect replacement using supraclavicular flap at the N. N. Blokhin National Medical Research Center of Oncology between February of 2015 and May of 2021. In 4 cases, buccal mucosa was affected; in 3 cases, the retromolar area; in 1 case, oral floor mucosa; in 1 case, mandibular alveolar ridge; in 1 case, mobile tongue. Flap sizes were 5–10 × 5–8 cm. Three (3) patients had history of radiotherapy, and 1 of them had a radical dose.

Results. In 4 patients without previous radiotherapy, partial flap necrosis was observed. In 1 patient, sutural diastasis in the oral cavity after partial flap necrosis was diagnosed. There were no cases of total flap necrosis and fistula formation. Suture dehiscence in the donor bed was observed in 1 patient only.

Conclusion. Use of supraclavicular flap is an option for oral cavity defect replacement after surgical intervention in patients with malignant tumors of the oral cavity producing satisfactory esthetic and functional results. The advantages of this flap are simple flap dissection, reliability of vascular pedicle, flexibility, possibility of replacing large defects, scant hair coverage.

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