pectoralis major myocutaneous flap reconstruction with deltopectoral flap incision in the surgical treatment of oral cancer

Background: one of the main goals of patient management is the reconstruction of tissue defects following surgical resection for oral cancer. a variety of flaps used for this purpose, the most frequent being a pectoralis major myocutaneus flap (pmmf). this flap is currently widely used for the reconstruction of different defects of the head and neck. methods: surgical resection of the primary tumor, as well as neck dissection, performed on 29 patients with oral squamous cell carcinoma between 2011–2017 in city hospital #1 and surgical training clinic of azerbaijan medical university. pmmf used for the reconstruction of defects using a deltopectoral flap incision. results: in 22 patients (75.8 %) primary healing occurred following a pmmf. four patients (13.8 %) suffered pmmf necrosis and were took back to the operating room for secondary reconstruction with a deltopectoral flap. in three patients (10.3%) the skin of the flap underwent necrosis, resulting in the development of an orocutaneous fistula. conclusion: use of pmmf with deltopectoral flap incision enables deltopectoral flap availability. this flap can then used early on or if pmmf fails.