Flashcards on Lip and Cheek Reconstruction Techniques

Lip and Cheek Reconstruction Techniques: A Student Guide

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When is primary nerve grafting less likely to provide good facial nerve function after nerve sacrifice in cheek reconstruction?

In elderly patients with a poor prognosis, where the chance of getting good function from primary nerve grafting is remote.

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Cheek and Lip Reconstruction Techniques

78 cards

Card 1

Question: When is primary nerve grafting less likely to provide good facial nerve function after nerve sacrifice in cheek reconstruction?

Answer: In elderly patients with a poor prognosis, where the chance of getting good function from primary nerve grafting is remote.

Card 2

Question: What static option can significantly improve quality of life in elderly patients who are not candidates for nerve grafting or free muscle transfer?

Answer: Static sling operations (for example, a static plantaris tendon sling used to position the oral commissure).

Card 3

Question: How can contour defects after radical parotidectomy be effectively managed in cheek reconstruction?

Answer: By using a flap to fill the postoperative contour defect, restoring contour with excellent effect.

Card 4

Question: What is the recommended way to approach reconstruction of composite defects that include lip, cheek, and eyelid elements?

Answer: Break the defect into its separate components and reconstruct each element individually (e.g., Estlander flap for upper lip, scapular free flap for ch

Card 5

Question: Which flap was used to reconstruct the cheek in the composite defect example, and which flap reconstructed the upper lip?

Answer: Cheek: scapular free flap; Upper lip: Estlander flap from the lower lip.

Card 6

Question: What temporary measure was used for eyelid management when eyelid reconstruction was deferred in the composite defect case?

Answer: Temporary tarsorrhaphy to close the eye until definitive reconstruction (Hughes tarso-conjunctival flap) was performed later.

Card 7

Question: What principles should guide lip reconstruction following surgical resection?

Answer: Use a defect-specific approach aiming to optimize oral competence and recreate natural-appearing lips; analyze missing tissue elements; use local tiss

Card 8

Question: When are local flaps preferred for lip reconstruction, and why?

Answer: For limited defects, local flaps from remaining labial tissue or adjacent cheek are preferred because they give the best aesthetic and functional resu

Card 9

Question: What advantages does the anterolateral thigh (ALT) flap offer for cheek reconstruction?

Answer: Allows a two-team approach with simultaneous harvest and tumor ablation, provides adequate skin quantity and quality, can be harvested suprafascially

Card 10

Question: What limitations of the anterolateral thigh flap should be considered?

Answer: Color match is less good in lighter-skinned patients; in males hairiness may be an issue; in older female patients bulk from subcutaneous fat may be s