Abstract
OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical effects of the anterolateral thigh perforator flaps transplantation in repairing the wounds after radical resection of skin malignant tumors in the head, face, and neck. METHODS: This study was a retrospective observational study. From May 2020 to December 2023, 27 patients with skin malignant tumors in the head, face, and neck were admitted to the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery of the First People's Hospital of Kashi Prefecture, including 19 males and 8 females, aged 53 to 89 years. There were 21 cases with squamous cell carcinoma and 6 cases with basal cell carcinoma. The wound area after radical resection of tumors was 9.0 cm×7.0 cm to 27.0 cm×21.5 cm. The wounds were repaired with the lobulated, combined, or various forms of combination of the anterolateral thigh perforator flaps, and the harvesting flap area in single donor site was 10.0 cm×8.0 cm to 27.0 cm×11.0 cm. The wounds in the flap donor sites were closed by suturing in 26 patients, while the wound in the flap donor site in 1 patient was repaired with medium-thickness skin graft in the lower leg. The survival of the flap, and the occurrence of vascular crisis and infection were observed after surgery. During follow-up after surgery, the tumor recurrence, shape and texture of the flaps, and the function and scar formation of the limbs where the donor site was located were observed. RESULTS: Only one patient developed venous crisis of the flap 27 hours after surgery, and the flap survived after vascular exploration and reanastomosis of the vein; the flaps in the other patients survived after surgery. One patient had an infected effusion under the flap after surgery, which healed after dressing change. After 6-36 months of postoperative follow-up, no tumor recurrence was observed; the flap had good appearance, texture, and elasticity; the limb where the donor site was located functioned normally, with only linear scars left. CONCLUSIONS: For complex wounds after radical resection of skin malignant tumors in the head, face, and neck, different forms of anterolateral thigh perforator flaps can be used to repair the wounds according to the condition of the wounds, and the wounds in the recipient sites heal well after surgery, with minimal damage to the donor site.