Clinical outcome and health-related quality-of-life following microsurgical reconstruction in patients with oral and oropharyngeal cancer

Abstract

Conclusion: Radial forearm free flap (RFFF) and fibula free flap (FFF) provide high safety and reliability with low incidence of free flap failure and an acceptable level of complications and health-related quality-of-life (HRQoL).

Objectives: To determine the clinical outcomes and long-term HRQoL in patients with oral or oropharyngeal cancer following free flap reconstruction.

Methods: A retrospective review of medical records and self-administered HRQoL questionnaires, EORTC QLQ-C30, and -H&N35. All patients who underwent surgery for oral or oropharyngeal cancer followed by primary reconstruction by RFFF or FFF at Rigshospitalet between September 2001 and November 2011 were included.

Results: The study comprised 19 patients still alive out of 61 patients. The free flap success rate was 94.7%. Early post-operative complications occurred in 11 patients (57.9%); however, only three cases (15.8%) required re-surgery. Nine patients (47.4%) developed late complications, including mandibular osteoradionecrosis in six cases (31.6%). Most patients obtained acceptable values of global quality-of-life and relatively high scores on the functional scales.

Keywords:

• Head and neck neoplasms
• free tissue flaps
• post-operative complications
• quality-of-life

Acknowledgements

Ethical approval was not required according to Danish regulations. The study was approved by the Danish Data Protection Agency (No. 2014-41-3568). Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Disclosure statement

The authors report no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the content and writing of the paper. This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.