Survival and function in patients with tumours of the head and neck operated on and reconstructed with free flaps

From 1983 to 2003, 131 patients were operated on in the head and neck region with 139 free flaps. They were operated on using a team approach of ear, nose, and throat surgeons and plastic surgeons, and sometimes maxillofacial surgeons. The tumours were squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) 104 (80%), salivary gland cancer 13 (10%), sarcoma 5 (4%), basal cell carcinoma 4 (3%), and others 4 (3%). The staging of the primary intraoral SCC tumours (n=79) was 42% in stage II, 28% in stage III, and 30% in stage IV. The survival of patients with primary oral SCC was compared with a previously treated previous series that gave an increase in tumour-related five-year survival from 48% to 58%. Most flaps were radial forearm flaps (73%). Fifteen percent were vascularised bone transfers. A questionnaire was sent to patients who had had oral/oropharyngeal tumours to measure function and satisfaction, to which 47/49 responded. The results including ability to chew and swallow; speech was good, with a median score of 0.78 (range 1-0).