Perforator Peroneal Artery Flap for Tongue Reconstruction. 2017

Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
Department of Head Neck Surgical Oncology, 6th Floor, Mazumdar Shaw Medical Centre, Narayana Health, 258/A Bommasandra Industrial Area, Anekal Taluk, Hosur Road, Bangalore, 560 099 India.

BACKGROUND Reconstruction has evolved long way from primary closure to flaps. As time evolved, better understanding of vascularity of flap has led to the development of innovative reconstructive techniques. These flaps can be raised from various parts of the body for reconstruction and have shown least donor site morbidity. We use one such peroneal artery perforator flap for tongue reconstruction with advantage of thin pliable flap, minimal donor site morbidity and hidden scar. METHODS Our patient 57yrs old lady underwent wide local excision with selective neck dissection. Perforators are marked about 10 and 15 cm inferiorly from the fibular head using hand held Doppler. Leg is positioned in such a way to give better exposure during dissection of the flap and flap is harvested under a tourniquet with pressure kept 350 mm Hg. The perforator is kept at the eccentric location, so as to gain length of the pedicle. Skin incison is placed over the peroneal muscle and deepened unto the deep facia, then the dissection is continued over the muscle and the perforator arising from the lateral septum. The proximal perforator about 10 cm from the fibular head is a constant perforator and bigger one, which is traced up to the peroneal vessel. We could get a 6 cm of pedicle length. Finally the flap is islanded on this perforator and the pedicle is ligated and flap harvested. Anastamosis was done to the ipsilateral side to facial vessels. The donor site is closed primarily and in the upper half one can harvest 5 cm width flap without requiring a skin graft along with a length of 8 to 12 cm. CONCLUSIONS Various local and free flap has been used for reconstruction of partial tongue defects with its obvious donor site problems, like less pliable skin and not so adequate tissue from local flaps and sacrificing a important artery as in radial forearm flap serves as the work horse in reconstruction of partial tongue defects, Concept of super microsurgery was popularized by Japanese in 1980s and the concept of angiosome proposed by Taylor paved the way for development of new flaps. True perforator flaps are those where the source vessel is left undisturbed and overlying skin flap is raised. Yoshimura proposed cutaneous flap could be raised from peroneal artery (Br J Plast Surg 42:715-718, 1989). Wolff et al. (Plast Reconstr Surg 113:107-113, 2004) first used perforator based peroneal artery flap for oral reconstruction. Location of perforators vary, hence pre operative localisation can be done by ultrasound doppler, CT angio or MR angiography. Disadvantages over radial flap include varying anatomic location of perforators, need for imaging and difficult dissection of delicate vessels through muscles and hence a learning curve. Our patient had an arterial thrombus within few hours post-operatively which was successfully salvaged with immediate re-exploration and re-anastomosis of artery. Post-operative healing was uneventful and donor site was closed primarily without the need for graft. CONCLUSIONS Perforator peroneal flap serves as a useful armamentarium for reconstruction of moderate size defects of tongue, buccal mucosa and floor of mouth with advantages of thin pliable flap, minimal donor site morbidity and hidden scar.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries

Related Publications

Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
March 2009, Zhongguo xiu fu chong jian wai ke za zhi = Zhongguo xiufu chongjian waike zazhi = Chinese journal of reparative and reconstructive surgery,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
January 2012, The British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
April 2013, Operative Orthopadie und Traumatologie,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
July 2017, Journal of reconstructive microsurgery,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
April 2010, Annals of plastic surgery,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
April 2016, Oral surgery, oral medicine, oral pathology and oral radiology,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
August 2013, Acta otorhinolaryngologica Italica : organo ufficiale della Societa italiana di otorinolaringologia e chirurgia cervico-facciale,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
January 2016, The British journal of oral & maxillofacial surgery,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
April 2006, Head & neck,
Shubhra Chauhan, and Sachin Chavre, and Naveen Hedne Chandrashekar, and Naveen B S
February 2020, Microsurgery,
Copied contents to your clipboard!