[Clinical anatomy of the islanded pedicled nasolabial flap and its application in reconstruction of postoperative defects of T1-T2 stage carcinoma of the floor of mouth].

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the anatomic features of nasolabial flap pedicled with a facial artery and its application in repairing the defect after surgery of stage T1-T2 carcinoma of the floor of mouth.

Methods: Dissections of the maxillofacial region were performed on 8 specimens of national adults fixed with 10% formaldehyde, and the anatomical pictures were analyzed using Image-Pro Plus 6.0 software. Nine patients were retrospectively reviewed from August 2015 to January 2024 for the repair of postoperative defects of stage T1-T2 carcinoma of the floor of mouth using nasolabial fold flaps with a facial artery perforator branch as vascular pedicle.

Results: The external diameter of the facial artery at the lower border of the mandible was (2.05±0.98) mm. The main trunk of the facial artery traveled along the line from the beginning of the facial artery to the nasal blade and had a length of (90.89±3.79) mm. The main facial vein run along the line from the beginning of the facial artery to the medial canthus, and its length is (118.10±2.57) mm. The longest distance between the facial artery and the facial vein was (25.92±1.96) mm. Nine patients had a favourable postoperative outcomes without obvious complications.

Conclusions: Repair of postoperative defects in middle-aged and elderly patients with T1-T2 stage carcinoma of the floor of mouth using a nasolabial fold flap can achieve satisfactory clinical outcomes.