Nasolabial flap for tongue reconstruction

Background: nasolabial flap has proven a reliable flap in the reconstruction of oral cavity and the facial defects over a period of time. however there is not much of literature of using this flap for reconstruction of isolated defects of tongue. we carried out this study in our population to assess the role of nasolabial flap in reconstruction of isolated tongue defects. methods:.descriptive stud. of 25 patients with t1 and t2 tongue cancer selected through non probability sampling admitted in the dept. of orl,hd. & neck surg.,king faisal specialist hosp. & res. ctr.,riyadh and aimc/jinnah hosp.,lahore,from march 2007 to september 2010. the funct. improvement in form of speech and swallowing was evaluated,post operatively. results: the flap was successfully taken in 24 patients with one flap failure. this is locally available flap with minimal operating time and doesn't require microvascular skills. the results of speech and swallowing after reconstr. were excellent. conclusion: nasolabial flap is an excellent locally available flap for the reconstr. of the anterior two third of the tongue with very minor,if any postoperative cosmetic defect.