Application of an L-shaped anterolateral thigh flap in reconstruction after hemiglossectomy

Objective Tongue defect reconstruction is one of the key components of tongue cancer surgery. In this study, we used an L-shaped flap design adopted as a simple and efficient method to repair tongue defects after hemiglossectomy. Furthermore, we evaluated and contrasted the clinical effects of two methods, the L-shaped and traditional methods. Study design Fifteen patients in the L-shaped group and 20 patients in the traditional group were evaluated and compared in terms of postoperative complications, dysphagia, language function and appearance satisfaction. Results The results (Table 1) showed that there were 2 cases of donor area invalid traumas, and 2 patients had scar hyperplasia in the traditional group. The degree of global and functional dysphagia of the L-shaped group (2.60 ± 0.29 and 11.47 ± 1.38) was lower than that of the traditional group (3.55 ± 0.29 and 15.75 ± 1.22) (P < 0.05). In the language evaluation, the traditional group (3.20 ± 0.26) had lower scores than the L-shaped group (4.13 ± 0.30) (P < 0.05). Conclusion The L-shaped ALTP flap is a simple and efficient modification of ALTP, that can be used for half-tongue repair after radical operations for tongue cancer. It has better performance in the recovery of dysphagia and language function than the traditional ALTP flap.