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Purpose: Mucous membrane grafts are used for various indications in oculoplastics. The authors report the use of nasal floor mucosa as a new donor site for mucous membrane grafts., Methods: Following adequate anesthesia and vasoconstriction, the nasal floor is visualized with a 30° endoscope. Next, the interior turbinate is medialized, and the nasolacrimal duct is identified and preserved. Anterior, posterior, medial, and lateral incisions are made through the nasal mucosa to the nasal bone. The mucosa is dissected off the nasal bone with a periosteal elevator. Nasal saline irrigation is used postoperatively to aid healing. Histologic analysis of the harvested graft and mucosa from the inferior and middle turbinates were analyzed histologically for the number of mucin-producing cells per high power field and compared., Results: Nasal floor mucosa provides ample tissue for grafting with little donor site morbidity. The surgery is technically easy to learn and perform. There is less risk for blood loss compared with harvesting tissue from the turbinates and less postoperative discomfort compared with buccal mucosal grafts. The grafts have been used in 9 different patients for a variety of ocular indications. Histologically, the nasal floor mucosa contains statistically more mucin-secreting cells than other nasal site, which can be helpful especially in cases of ocular surface disease. In 1 case, biopsy of the grafted tissue at postoperative year 2 showed survival of the respiratory mucin-secreting cells under histologic examination., Conclusions: Nasal floor mucosa should be considered a donor site when a mucous membrane graft is needed. The surgery is safe, easy to perform, and has less morbidity than either a nasal turbinate graft or a buccal mucosal graft.

Background: Recalcitrant sphenoid sinusitis occurs in 27% of patients undergoing revision functional endoscopic sinus surgery. One of the main causes of disease recurrence in the sphenoid is cicatricial scarring of the ostium. Highly inflammatory lesions such as fungal balls or chronic mucoceles can predispose patients to restenosis. We present a novel use of a modified nasoseptal flap to cover exposed bone after sphenoid wide sinusotomy to prevent restenosis and expedite healing., Methods: A case series was performed., Results: The mini-nasoseptal flap was successful in preventing sphenoid ostium restenosis in nine patients undergoing endoscopic sinus surgery for highly inflammatory sphenoid sinus pathology with a mean postoperative follow-up of 8.4 months (range, 2-21 months). Patients had a mean of 2.3 prior sinus surgeries (range, 0-7 surgeries). Most common indications for the flap in this series included long-standing fungal sinusitis or fungal balls (n = 6) with or without significant sphenoid wall osteoneogenesis (n = 6). There were no significant side effects related to flap harvest or inset., Conclusion: The mini-nasoseptal flap decreases the risk of restenosis after sphenoid sinusotomy by preventing circumferential cicatricial scarring and offers an effective surgical option on the spectrum of sphenoid surgical interventions in select patients.

A variety of local flaps based on the sphenopalatine artery are available for endoscopic skull base reconstruction including the nasoseptal flap, middle turbinate flap, and posteriorly based inferior turbinate flap. This section will describe the alternatives to the nasoseptal flap, emphasizing the relevant anatomy, indications and technical aspects involved with their use., (Copyright © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Background: Obtaining a watertight reconstruction with a fat graft with wide sellar exposures can be challenging, including the risk of reinstating mass effect with the fat graft. The alternative, a vascularized pedicle nasoseptal flap, may require several days to heal and still has a > 5% cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak rate., Objective: To assess the efficacy of a barrier-limited multimodality (BLMM) closure, consisting of an autograft fat-based watertight seal and limited by a membrane barrier, together with the vascularized nasoseptal flap., Methods: This is a retrospective review of 27 consecutive patients undergoing endonasal cranial base surgery limited to the sellar-parasellar region at the UCLA Medical Center who experienced an intraoperative CSF leak that was repaired with the BLMM technique. The results of 43 prior case-controlled reconstructions using a nasoseptal flap, without the full BLMM technique, were analyzed as a comparison group., Results: There were no postoperative CSF leaks in the patients reconstructed with the BLMM closure technique. The CSF leak rate for the comparison group receiving nasoseptal flaps was 19%., Conclusion: A BLMM closure may further decrease the incidence of postoperative CSF leaks compared with predominant reliance on a nasoseptal flap. The novel membrane barrier allows a watertight inner closure by preventing herniation of the fat autograft into the resection cavity. An outer-layer nasoseptal flap provides a living barrier for optimal long-term defense.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the outcomes, complications, and incidence of disease recurrence of mandibular osteoradionecrosis (ORN) after resection and microvascular free flap reconstruction., Study Design: Case series with chart review., Setting: Academic medical center., Subjects and Methods: Retrospective patient data review of 40 patients with mandibular ORN who were treated by segmental mandibulectomy and microvascular reconstruction between 1995 and 2009. All patients received radiation therapy for previous head and neck cancer, and 12 of 40 patients received concurrent chemotherapy. All patients failed to respond to conservative management. There were 26 males and 14 females, with a median age of 62 years. Median follow-up was 17.4 months., Results: There were no free flap failures. The incidence of wound-related complications was 55 percent. Median time to complication was 10.6 months. Ten (25%) patients developed symptoms of residual or recurrent ORN, with 70 percent of the recurrences arising in unresected condyles that were adjacent to the segmental mandibulectomy. Statistical analysis revealed that current smokers were at reduced risk to develop residual or recurrent ORN., Conclusion: This present study confirms that microvascular free flaps are reliable for treatment of advanced mandibular ORN. Nevertheless, there remains a 55 percent incidence of wound-healing complications. The lack of objective clinical criteria to judge the appropriate amount of mandible resection in patients with ORN remains an unresolved issue that resulted in the development of recurrent ORN in 25 percent of patients. Further investigations are needed to better understand the pathophysiology of ORN to prevent postoperative wound complications and disease recurrence., (Copyright 2010 American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery Foundation. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To identify the incidence of hardware and bone-healing complications in patients who underwent locking mandibular reconstruction plate (LMRP) fixation of vascularized bone grafts for reconstruction of segmental mandibular defects., Design: Case series., Setting: Academic tertiary care medical center., Patients: One hundred one patients who had undergone LMRP fixation of vascularized bone grafts for reconstruction of segmental mandibular defects with a minimum follow-up of 6 months., Main Outcome Measures: Association of patient- and defect-related characteristics with the incidence of loose screws, osteosynthesis nonunion, and complications necessitating hardware removal., Results: The incidence of loose screws was 0.8% in 984 locking screws implanted. The incidence of nonunion was 0.7% in 290 osteosyntheses. Overall, 15 of 101 LMRPs (14.8%) were removed because of hardware-related complications, with plate extrusion (n = 10) the most common complication necessitating hardware removal. Pathologic diagnosis (P = .002), previous treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (P < .001), radiation therapy (P < .001), and cancer recurrence (P = .03) were statistically significant predictors of LMRP-related complications at univariate analysis. At multivariate analysis, previous treatment with hyperbaric oxygen (P < .046) remained a statistically significant predictor of LMRP-related complications., Conclusions: In patients undergoing mandibular reconstruction, LMRPs are highly effective for fixation of vascularized bone grafts, with a high incidence of bone-graft healing and a low incidence of complications related to loose screws. Nevertheless, there remains a 15% incidence of hardware-related complications, most related to hardware extrusion. Previous treatment with hyperbaric oxygen is a statistically significant predictor of LMRP-related complications.

Objective: To determine factors predicting the outcome after salvage surgery with microvascular flap reconstruction for recurrent squamous cell cancer (SCC) of the head and neck., Study Design: This is a retrospective analysis of patients treated at an academic medical center., Methods: One hundred six patients underwent salvage surgery and microvascular flap reconstruction after prior unsuccessful cancer treatment using surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy. All patients had a follow-up interval after salvage surgery of at least 24 months unless cancer rerecurrence occurred within 24 months after salvage surgery. Factors including age, sex, comorbidity level, tobacco use, alcohol use, disease-free interval since prior therapy, prior radiation, prior chemotherapy, prior surgery, recurrent tumor T class, recurrent tumor N class, recurrent cancer stage, and tumor location were examined to determine their association with cancer rerecurrence after salvage surgery. Successful treatment was defined as patients who remained free from cancer rerecurrence for a minimum 2 year period after salvage surgery., Results: Advanced recurrent T class (P = .02) was significantly associated with cancer recurrence. Recurrent cancer stage and patient smoking status approached statistical significance (P = .06)., Conclusion: Patients with recurrent T1 and T2 class are the best candidates for salvage surgery and microvascular flap reconstruction for treatment of recurrent SCC of the head and neck. Patients with T3 and T4 class recurrent cancers and patients who continue to smoke after initial diagnosis and treatment of head and neck SCC are poor candidates to undergo salvage surgery.

Objective: Our objective was to determine which factors are associated with cancer recurrence after microvascular reconstruction of the head and neck for squamous cell carcinoma (SCC)., Study Design: A cohort of patients who fit the inclusion/exclusion criteria were identified retrospectively., Methods: A group of 184 patients who underwent successful surgical resection and simultaneous microvascular reconstruction of the head and neck for treatment of SCC were identified. The mean age was 60 (range 23-90) years, there were 115 males and 69 females, and mean follow-up was 26.2 (range 1-99) months. Various factors were analyzed to determine whether they were associated with cancer recurrence, including those pertaining to 1) recipient vessel choice, 2) prior cancer treatment, and 3) cancer staging criteria. Statistical analysis was performed using SPSS statistical software., Results: Overall cancer stage (P = .005), T stage (P = .0001), history of previous cancer treatment (P = .004), and history of previous chemotherapy (P = .044) were found to be statistically significant predictors of cancer recurrence on univariate analysis. However, on multivariate analysis, only T stage (P = .005) and history of previous cancer treatment (P = .008) remained as statistically significant predictors of cancer recurrence. Recipient vessel selection was not statistically associated with cancer recurrence., Conclusions: In our study, only T stage and a history of previous cancer treatment were associated with increased cancer recurrence. Neither the recipient vessel chosen nor its location impacted cancer recurrence. This suggests that recipient vessel selection and preparation for microvascular reconstruction do not jeopardize the adequacy of oncologic resection and are therefore oncologically sound.