quote:

Almost all patients with base of tongue cancers treated with primary surgery and reconstructed with a modified radial forearm free flap consistently achieve efficient and safe swallowing postoperatively, Canadian researchers report in the August issue of the Archives of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery.

Dr. Seikaly of Walter C. MacKenzie Health Sciences Centre, Edmonton, Alberta and colleagues note that there is a lack of information on the functional outcome of such procedures.

To investigate further, the team prospectively followed patients who were treated with primary surgical resection and reconstruction with the beavertail modification of radial forearm free flap followed by radiotherapy.

The procedure, the researchers conclude, maintains adequate base of the tongue and posterior pharyngeal wall apposition allowing "structures such as the pharyngeal, oral, and suprahyoid musculature to contract and generate the necessary force to propel the food bolus through the oropharynx, resulting in a safe swallow."

Ref:Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg;134:857-864.