[MEDIAL SURAL ARTERY PERFORATOR FREE FLAP FOR REPAIR OF DEFECT AFTER TONGUE CANCER ABLATION].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness of medial sural artery perforator free flap (MSAP) for repairing defect after tongue cancer ablation. METHODS: Between March 2013 and April 2014, the defects after tongue carcinoma resection were repaired with MSAP in 12 patients, including 8 cases of high or medium differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) and 4 cases of moderately-poor differentiated SCC. There were 7 males and 5 females with a median age of 55 years (range, 45-68 years). The disease duration ranged from 2.0 to 8.5 months (mean, 4.3 months). The tumor located at the tongue edge in 8 cases and at the tongue abdomen in 4 cases (mouth floor infiltration in 1 case). According to TNM stage, 7 cases were rated as T2N0M0, 2 cases as T2N1M0, 2 cases as T3N1M0, and 1 case as T4N1M0. The size of tumor ranged from 3.0 cm x 2.0 cm to 4.5 cm x 3.0 cm. The size of MSAP varied from 4.0 cm x 3.5 cm to 6.5 cm x 6.0 cm. RESULTS: The time of total operation ranged from 5.5 to 8.3 hours (mean, 6.8 hours), and flap harvesting time ranged from 54 to 85 minutes (mean, 65.6 minutes). The other flaps survived except 1 case of vein crisis. All the patients were followed up 6-18 months (mean, 13.7 months). With time passing, the pronunciation got better, and the skin showed mucosa-like change; the patients were capable of normal language exchange at 6 months after operation. No obvious scar on the leg or limitation of limb motion was observed. CONCLUSION: The MSAP is reliable for repair of defect after tongue cancer ablation, with the advantages of satisfactory recovery of tongue appearance, language function, and less donor site morbidity.