Journal Reviews

What is the evidence for duration of antibiotic prophylaxis in head and neck free-flap cases?

1 May 2018 | | clean-contaminated, free flaps, microvascular surgery, prophylactic antibiotics, surgical site infection

The topic of this systematic review is one which is commonly heard in discussions between microbiologists and head and neck surgeons – what is the evidence for antibiotic prophylaxis in clean-contaminated free-flap cases, and crucially, how long should antibiotics be...

Multiple free flaps for head and neck cancer

1 March 2015 | | Head and Neck, Skull Base Surgery | Complications, Free tissue transfer flaps, Head and neck cancer, Maxilla-mandibular reconstruction, Microsurgical free flaps

Most patients with advanced head and neck cancers now undergo microvascular free flap reconstruction. This is mainly as flaps facilitate complete tumour and margin removal by providing reliable wound coverage and better restoration of form and function. However despite this,...

Vascularised tissue in salvage total laryngectomy

1 September 2014 | | Salvage laryngectomy, free flaps, pedicled flaps, pharyngocutaneous fistula, reconstruction, recurrent laryngeal cancer

Chemoradiation (CRT) has become the mainstay for locally advanced laryngeal cancer since the RTOG 91-11 trial. Unfortunately there is still a substantial demand for salvage laryngectomies, which have a higher complication rate, the most notable being pharyngocutaneous fistula (PCF). Several...