As I arrived at NCH this trip, I met this young man, Kingsley, on the road. I examined him right then and told him we would help. His case turned out to be a big challenge. He had a massive tumor that extended into the oral cavity. After a radical resection, the left side of the oral cavity was gone. We let him rest for a few days, then returned to surgery. First, we performed a
temporalis flap to close the oral cavity. Then we performed a pectorals major myocutaneous flap to provide coverage for the face. Amazingly, it all worked! By the time I left, he was eating a regular diet. He will need radiation therapy.
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Large parotid mass |
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Note involvement of skin |
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After resection-mandible exposed and left buccal mucosa resected |
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Temporalis flap raised |
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Temporalis flap used to reconstruct oral cavity |
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Pectoralis flap raised
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One week post surgery |
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One week post surgery |