Two designs of platysma myocutaneous flap for reconstruction of oral and facial defects following cancer surgery

This study evaluates the effects of two different designs of platysma myocutaneous flap, vertical and transverse, used in the reconstruction of defects following the excision of oral and facial tumors. Modified radical neck dissection or selected neck dissection was also performed. Out of the 48 patients, vertical and transverse platysma myocutaneous flaps were used for 41 and 7, respectively. The postoperative outcome for the vertical flaps was 37 cases surviving, two cases of complete necrosis, and two cases of partial necrosis. With the transverse flaps, six survived and there was one case of complete necrosis. The success rate was 90.2% and 85.7% for the vertical and the transverse flap, respectively. The form and function of recipient sites were well recovered. In conclusion, the platysma myocutaneous flap has clinical value in selected patients needing reconstruction of small and medium-sized intraoral or facial defects. It is recommended that the vertical design be used for reconstruction of buccal mucosa defects, and the transverse design for mouth-floor and facial defects.