Managing complexity with chimerism: ALT-AMT flaps for complex head and neck reconstruction

Head and neck cancer is the most common cancer in males and fifth most common in females in India. Inadequate screening programs and non-availability of local healthcare resources leads to late diagnosis and most cases present at an advanced stage. Surgical extirpation often results in complex, large defects. The concept of chimerism is useful in dealing with such extensive defects.

Between July 2013 and May 2017, all patients who underwent primary reconstruction of head and neck defects following cancer extirpative surgery, with ALT-AMT chimera flap at a tertiary care cancer centre were included in this study. The patient data of age, sex, etiology, defect size, flap size, perforator configuration, anastomotic details, donor site closure, and complications was retrospectively collected as per the designated proforma from the hospital electronic record, departmental case record forms and the first author’s personal logs, and analyzed.

Chimeric flaps based on the lateral circumflex femoral artery i.e. ALT plus AMT provide the desired qualities to address the complex defects. All thirteen patients had a large intraoral mucosal defect. Nine cases had a large extra oral skin defect. The average size of ALT was (112.5 cm² area) and of AMT was (94.9 cm² area). The combined area of ALT AMT was 28.5 X 9 = 256.5 cm². All AMT pedicles were joining the ALT pedicle. 1 AMT was lost and all donor sites needed skin grafting.

Chimeric ALT + AMT is a valuable option when complex, large, multidimensional and multicomponent defects need to be reconstructed. The advantage of utilising a single donor site and two independent flaps with a single microvascular anastomosis.

Level of Evidence: Level IV, therapeutic study