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The myomucosal buccinator flap, first described by Bozola in 1989, has become an important tool for intraoral defects reconstruction. In the literature, there is a variety of proposed myomucosal cheek flaps, both pedicled and island, based on the buccal or the facial arteries. From January 2007 to December 2011, the authors used a pedicled buccinator flap based posteriorly on the buccal artery to reconstruct partial lingual defects following tumor resection in 27 patients. The buccal fat pad was translated to cover the donor site defect. After 3 to 4 weeks from the original surgery, a second procedure under local anesthesia was performed to detach the pedicle and remodel the flap. The morphological and functional outcomes of the procedures were evaluated by the surgeons and a speech and language therapist. All patients presented satisfactory results. The authors consider the use of the described technique as the gold standard in the reconstruction of partial tongue defects after tumor resection.

Aim: Patients affected by unilateral facial palsy often show partial or complete atrophy of the orbicularis oris. The lower hemilip on the affected side may have partial functional recover due to direct reinnervation stemming from the unaffected side. This explains why atrophy of the paralysed side is sometimes limited. Negative esthetic and functional findings include partial invisibility of the vermillion border due to lip inversion resulting from muscle flaccidity, asymmetry of the lower lip, oral incompetence, and speech and nutrition impairments of variable degree. In this study, we used Coleman lipofilling as a secondary and ancillary procedure to consolidate the results already obtained with dynamic reanimation, specifically aiming to reduce the volumetric loss due to atrophy of the orbicularis oris muscle., Methods: Eight patients underwent lipofilling to restore volumetric loss due to muscular denervation atrophy. Six of our patients were affected by inveterate facial palsy and one by an acute form of facial palsy. The last patient presented with high-grade bilateral upper lip atrophy due to Moebius syndrome. Two patients underwent a second lipofilling intervention., Results: The esthetic volume increase and the ameliorated lip competence were immediately noticeable after the first lipofilling, to great patient satisfaction. As a result of the variable rate of resorption over time of the grafted fat, it may be advisable to repeat the procedure in some patients to maximize results., Conclusion: Lipofilling represents a useful and safe ancillary technique for camouflage of lower lip atrophy in paralysed patients.

Object: Surgical treatment of parotid malignancies may frequently involve facial nerve amputation to achieve oncological radical resection. The entire facial nerve branching from its exit from the stylomastoid foramen to the periphery of the gland is often sacrificed. The first reconstructive strategy is the immediate reconstruction of the facial nerve by directly anastomosing the trunk of the facial nerve to its distal branches by interpositional nerve grafting. The present study was performed to determine the adequacy of thoracodorsal nerve grafting for immediate repair of the facial nerve. The anatomical features of the thoracodorsal nerve make it particularly appropriate to match its trunk to the stump of the facial nerve at its exit from the stylomastoid foramen. Up to seven branches of the thoracodorsal nerve may be distally anastomosed to the severed distal branches of the facial nerve. More complex reconstruction may be addressed simultaneously by contemporary harvesting a de-epithelialized free flap from the same site based on thoracodorsal vessel perforators and preparing a rib graft from the same donor site., Methods: Between October 2003 and August 2010, seven patients affected by parotid tumors (6 with parotid malignancies and 1 with multiple recurrences of pleomorphic adenoma) underwent radical parotidectomy with intentional sacrifice of the facial nerve to obtain oncological radical resection. In all patients, the facial nerve was reconstructed with an interpositional thoracodorsal nerve graft. In four patients, a de-epithelialized free flap based on the latissimus dorsi was transposed to cover soft tissue defects. Moreover, two of these patients also required a rib graft to reconstruct both the condyle and ramus of the mandible. With the exception of one patient affected by recurrent pleomorphic adenoma, all patients underwent radiotherapy after surgical treatment., Results: All patients in our study recovered mimetic facial function. Facial muscles showed clinical signs of recovery within 5-14 (mean: 7.8) months, with varying degrees of mimetic restoration, and almost complete facial symmetry at rest in all patients. The House-Brackmann final score was I in two patients, II in two patients, and III in three patients., Conclusions: A thoracodorsal nerve graft to replace extratemporal facial nerve branching is a valid alternative technique to multiple classical nerve grafts, with good matching at both the proximal and distal anastomoses., (Copyright © 2013 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

To minimize complications in skull base surgery, it is necessary to separate intracranial structures from the upper aerodigestive tract with well-vascularized tissue. The majority of defects can be reconstructed using local flaps using pericranium, galea, or temporalis muscle. However, there are conditions that affect the suitability of the previously mentioned flaps, for example, previous surgical procedures or radiotherapy. Local flaps may also be inadequate to reconstruct particularly large defects. Extensive bony demolitions produce aesthetic deformities that need accurate reconstructions. Orbital wall defects have to be reconstructed to avoid complications such as the transmission of cerebral pulsation, bulbar dystopias, diplopia, and ophthalmoplegia. The microvascular latissimus dorsi flap is ideal in all these cases, and the use of a costal graft allows simultaneous reconstruction of bony defects. From January 2000 to January 2008, 17 patients have undergone surgical ablation of the spheno-orbital region and reconstruction with latissimus dorsi flap and costal grafts. The flap survival rate was 100%. One patient required revision of the venous anastomosis. No cerebrospinal fluid leak or intracranial infections have been detected. The only complications registered were dystopias in 6 patients and diplopia in 4; all of these spontaneously resolved within 2 months. The microvascular latissimus dorsi flap with costal graft is an effective method for the reconstruction of the spheno-orbital region when local flaps are not indicated. It has a negligible donor-site morbidity, an ideal vascular pedicle, and an easy harvesting technique. The costal graft allows the simultaneous reconstruction of the orbital walls, giving good results.

Radical treatment of parotid neoplasms may lead to complex parotid defects that present functional and aesthetic reconstructive challenges. We report our experience using the lateral thoracic wall as a single donor site. Between 2003 and 2009, four patients with malignant tumours in the parotid gland underwent radical parotidectomy and simultaneous reconstruction using a perforator latissimus dorsi cutaneous free flap (de-epithelialized and entire skin paddle in two cases each). A thoracodorsal nerve graft was used in all cases to replace the intraglandular branches of the facial nerve. Costal grafts were used for mandibular reconstruction in two patients. All patients underwent postoperative physiotherapy. No donor-site complication occurred and all treatments achieved good aesthetic results. All patients recovered nearly complete symmetry at rest and partial facial mimetic function. The lateral thoracic wall is a good donor site for the reconstruction of complex parotid defects., (Copyright © 2012 European Association for Cranio-Maxillo-Facial Surgery. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Introduction: The facial paralysis is a non-rare condition that has very disabling functional, morphological and psychological repercussions. The current gold standard in facial reanimation is revascularized re-innervated muscle transfers., Materials and Methods: In this paper, we report the results of a new method using the gracilis flap with a double innervation on the masseter motor nerve and the controlateral facial nerve via a sural graft in a single stage intervention, on a series of six patients., Results: No failure was observed. The average delay of a voluntary contraction was 3.8months, and 7.2months for a spontaneous one. Three of the six patients had "excellent" results according to the Terzis and Noah classification, two were classified as "good" and one "average"., Discussion: A choice is to be made between a method advocating a natural and spontaneous dynamicity (controlateral facial nerve stimulus) and a method focusing on the quality and quantity of contractions (ipsilateral trijeminal stimulus). In this new technique, we combine the two methods: a free gracilis transfer with a dual innervation on the healthy controlateral facial nerve via a sural graft, on one hand, and a second anastomosis on the ipsilateral masseter nerve, on the other hand., Conclusion: This new proposed method seems to be, according to our results, a reliable technique rallying voluntary contraction and emotional smile., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Objective: One-stage free-flap facial reanimation may be accomplished by using a gracilis transfer innervated by the masseteric nerve, but this technique does not restore the patient's ability to smile spontaneously. By contrast, the transfer of the latissimus dorsi innervated by the contralateral facial nerve provides the correct nerve stimulus but is limited by variation in the quantity of contraction. The authors propose a new one-stage facial reanimation technique using dual innervation; a gracilis muscle flap is innervated by the masseteric nerve, and supplementary nerve input is provided by a cross-face sural nerve graft anastomosed to the contralateral facial nerve branch., Methods: Between October 2009 and March 2010, four patients affected by long-standing unilateral facial paralysis received gracilis muscle transfers innervated by both the masseteric nerve and the contralateral facial nerve., Results: All patients recovered voluntary and spontaneous smiling abilities. The recovery time to voluntary flap contraction was 3.8 months, and spontaneous flap contraction was achieved within 7.2 months after surgery. According to Terzis and Noah's five-stage classification of reanimation outcomes, two patients had excellent outcomes and two had good outcomes., Conclusions: In this preliminary study, the devised double-innervation technique allows to achieve a good grade of flap contraction as well as emotional smiling ability. A wider number of operated patients are needed to confirm those initial findings., (Copyright © 2012 British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)