Oral and maxillofacial defects that were unreconstructed or inadequately reconstructed often lead to aesthetic and functional impairments, resulting in socio-emotional and psychological concerns of patients, which impact their quality of life. This justifies the needs of oral and maxillofacial reconstructive surgery to minimize aesthetic deformity; to restore these functions (mastication, swallowing, speech, etc.); to maintain an adequate airway permeability; thereby, to improve the patients’ quality of life. The etiologies of oral and maxillofacial defects include surgical resection of malignant tumors, some benign tumors, aggressive cysts, some infections and inflammatory diseases, defects post severe traumatic injuries, some congenital and developmental deformities, and burns. The free flaps (FF) remain the first choice for reconstruction of large oral and maxillofacial defects because their overall success rate is very high (more than 90%). However, pedicled flaps (PF) still play a role in situations where the use of free flaps presents some limitations and risks. Pectoralis major flap (PMF) and submental island flap (SIF) represent excellent options for the reconstruction of oral and maxillofacial defects; they are good alternatives to free flaps when the latter are contraindicated or their use is limited by the absence of sufficient resources.
Bitsafi et al. (Fri,) studied this question.