A fibular free flap is one way of filling a bony hole in either the upper or lower jaw. It is one of the common ways of replacing bone that has been removed for cancer treatment.
What is skin paddle?
The skin paddle is designed as an ellipse and can be up to 13 cm wide and up to 33 cm long. An incision is made along the superior and lateral margins of the skin paddle, exposing the lateral edge of the gluteus maximus. Blunt dissection is then performed between the gluteus maximus and gluteus medius muscles.
What is FFF surgery?
The vascularised free fibular flap (FFF) is the most commonly used flap in head and neck for bony reconstruction. It is a vascu- larised free composite flap containing bone and muscle, with or without skin and pro- vides reliable single-stage reconstruction with excellent functional and aesthetic results.
What is the first step in mandibular reconstruction?
proposed a protocol for functional reconstruction of mandibular discontinuity defects, which consisted of several differentiated steps: (1) resection of the tumor with free margins, together with reconstruction of the newly generated mandibular defect by means of the fibular vascularized osteocutaneous flap; (2) …
Can a person walk without fibula?
The fibula is a long, thin bone of the outer leg alongside the shinbone. It is sometimes used to harvest bone that can be used in certain reconstructive surgeries of bone. The fibula can be removed without impacting the individual’s ability to walk or bear weight.
What role does the fibula play?
Unlike the tibia, the fibula is not a weight-bearing bone. Its main function is to combine with the tibia and provide stability to the ankle joint. The distal end of the fibula has several grooves for ligament attachments which then stabilize and provide leverage during the ankle movements.
What is a perforator vessel?
The new definition of perforator is a vessel perforating an envelope of a targeted tissue to be transferred; the superficial fascia for skin, the periosteum for bone, the perineurium for nerve, and the deep fascia for muscle.
Can you talk after Mandibulectomy?
This will keep your airway open and make it easier for you to breathe. Your surgery will also cause facial swelling, which will affect the way you eat, drink, and speak. This will slowly decrease as the area heals over several months.
What is infrastructure Maxillectomy?
Infrastructure maxillectomy is a surgical procedure to remove the lower part of the maxilla and hard palate.
Do you need your fibula bone?
What is a free flap reconstruction?
What is free flap reconstruction surgery? “Free flap,” also known as “free tissue transfer,” is a term for a procedure in which tissue and its blood supply (artery and vein) are surgically removed from one part of the body and transferred to another area of the body for the purpose of reconstruction.
Can you walk on a nonunion fibula fracture?
Because the fibula is not a weight-bearing bone, your doctor might allow you walk as the injury recovers. You also might be advised to use crutches, avoiding weight on the leg, until the bone heals because of the fibula’s role in ankle stability.
How do you draw the skin paddle on the fibula?
The proximal and distal fibula are marked and the axis of the bone is drawn. The axis of the skin paddle is drawn at the posterior border of the fibula. The paddle is outlined a few centimeters below the neck of the fibula and 5 to 5 centimeters above the medial malleolus.
What happens if no skin paddle is needed for a flap?
If less skin paddle is needed, a smaller paddle can be drawn, or the skin can be trimmed after the flap is harvested. If no skin paddle is needed, the incision is simply made along the axis of the bone, a finger breadth posterior to the fibula.
What is the vascularized free fibular flap?
The vascularized free fibular flap, pioneered by Taylor and colleagues in 1975, 1 is well-suited for reconstructing large bony defects of the humerus, radius, and ulna. When raised as an osteocutaneous flap, this flap can also address composite upper extremity defects with moderate soft-tissue loss.
What is the role of the skin paddle in osseointegration?
The skin paddle has proven to be dependable if care is taken to preserve the fasciocutaneous perforators. Innervation of the flap is possible, and the flap has ample bone stock for the placement of osseointegrated implants. See General microvascular protocol.
