Supraclavicular Artery Island Flap in Head and Neck
Reconstruction
Objective : Share our practices for the use of the
supraclavicular artery island flap (SCAIF) in head and neck
reconstruction.
Methods : A retrospective review was conducted from October 2017
to June 2020 on patients who had undergone SCAIF reconstructions of head
and neck defects in our hospital. The following data were collected:
Age, gender, primary disease, type of surgical defect, flap harvest
time, flap dimensions, length of hospital stay, complications and
clinical outcomes.
Results : Nine patients had
undergone SCAIF reconstruction and three of them also had undergone
pectoralis major myocutaneous flap reconstruction simultaneously. All
patients were male with the average age of 60.56±11.27 years. Four
reconstructions were performed to repair anterior neck skin defects or
fistulae related to previous treatment. The SCAIF was used in three
patients to repair defects following hypopharyngeal resection or total
laryngectomy. Two reconstructions were performed to repair defects
following salvage surgery of recurrent head and neck tumor. The average
flap harvest time was 31.78±4.55 mins. The average flap size of was
15.22±0.63 × 5.89±0.74 cm. The average length of hospital stay was
37.67±18.48 days. No complete flap loss or major complications occurred
during their stays in hospital. Two patients had partial necrosis of the
distal portion of the flap. One patient developed fistula. No donor site
complications and compromised shoulder function were observed.
Conclusions : The SCAIF can be successfully used for
reconstruction of head and neck defects with good cosmetic outcomes and
limited morbidity.