Crossed pectoralis major myocutaneous flap for recurrent oral cavity cancers

BACKGROUND: Oral cavity cancers are fairly common and have propensity to recur locally. Since Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous (PMMC) flap is the most widely used first flap for reconstruction, it is exhausted at the earliest and recurrence poses a formidable challenge for reconstructive surgeon. Present study evaluated the feasibility of contralateral Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap for reconstruction after resection of recurrent tumour. METHODS: This was a study of the patients presenting with recurrent oral cavity cancer after exhausted ipsilateral Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap (PMMC) in whom we used contralateral Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap (Crossed PMMC Flap) for reconstruction between October 2013 to June 2016. RESULTS: Five patients with recurrence underwent reconstruction with contralateral Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap. In all the flap was successfully used to reconstruct defects involving the entire buccal mucosa and in one patient the flap could be used to reconstruct full thickness resection defect(crossed bipedal PMMC Flap) with ease. CONCLUSION: Crossed Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap can be used safely and reliably for reconstruction of the buccal mucosal defect and in selected patients even for full thickness cheek defect as folded bipaddle Pectoralis Major Myocutaneous Flap.