Clinical effect of pre-expanded deltopectoral flap in the repair of faciocervical lesion and defect

Objective To explore the clinical effect of pre-expanded deltopectoral flap in the repair of faciocervical lesion and defect. Methods From July 2004 to August 2018, 355 patients with faciocervical lesion and defect were admitted to the First Affiliated Hospital of Air Force Medical University, including 200 males and 155 females aged 4 to 48 years with major conditions including thermal burn scars, and type Ⅲ and Ⅳ facial-cervical deformities. During the stage Ⅰ skin soft tissue expander implantation surgery, according to the size and location of lesion and defect, expanders with appropriate volume were placed to expand the deltopectoral area. During the stage Ⅱ flap pedicled transposition surgery, after the expander was expanded to the desired volume, the impairment tissue was removed, the flap was designed according to the size of the defect (the unilateral defect area was 7 cm×5 cm to 17 cm×16 cm) and pedicled transposition was carried out. The incision in the chest donor area was directly sutured and closed. After the flap survived, stage Ⅲ flap delay and pedicle division surgery was carried out. The area of one single flap was 8 cm×5 cm to 20 cm×18 cm. The numbers of flaps and expanders, rated volume and expansion of expander, the intervals between surgeries in each stage, flap survival, postoperative complications in surgeries in each stage, and follow-up were recorded and analyzed. Results A total of 460 pre-expanded deltopectoral flaps were used, including 250 unilateral flaps and 105 bilateral flaps. Totally 460 expanders were used in this group of patients. The rated volume was mostly 500 mL (163 expanders) and 600 mL (142 expanders). The expansion multiple of the expander was (1.14±0.19) times of the rated volume. The flap expansion time of the patients was (96±30) d, the pedicle time was (32±8) d, and the delay time was (7.5±1.6) d. The postoperative complications of patients mainly included infection (29 patients), expander exposure (18 patients), and hematoma (10 patients). During the follow-up of 6 to 120 months, the elasticity, texture, and color of the flaps of patients were similar to the surrounding tissue of the recipient area, and the face and neck were symmetrical, not bloated. Conclusions The deltopectoral flap obtained by overexpansion has a larger area and a thinner thickness, and the elasticity, texture, and color are similar to the surrounding tissue of the recipient area. After transfer, a stable appearance of the face and neck can be obtained. The main complications are infection and expander exposure, most of which occurred after stage Ⅰ skin soft tissue expander implantation surgery.