Modified Buccal Myomucosal Flap Closure of Large Anterior Palatal Oronasal Fistulas.

Abstract

Large oronasal palatal fistulas can be challenging to reconstruct. The authors present a modified buccal myomucosal flap repair technique and review intermediate-term outcomes. In this technique, large anterior palatal fistulas are closed in two layers. First, apposing nasal turnover flaps of vomer mucosa medially and nasal wall mucosa laterally are approximated. Second, a posteriorly based buccal flap incorporating full-thickness buccinator muscle and overlying mucosa is transposed with interposition of the flap in the retromolar trigone and lateral palate to preserve dental occlusion. Consecutive patient cases performed in low-resource settings were reviewed and outcomes reported. Among eight subjects aged 3 to 22 years, with average defect size of 2.5 cm2 (range, 0.8 to 3.5 cm2), the flap was viable in all cases and required revision or pedicle division in only two patients (25 percent); all patients showed symptom improvement. The modified buccal myomucosal flap shows promising intermediate-term results as a single-stage reconstruction suitable to a wide patient age range, low airway/anesthetic risk, reliable functional outcomes, and low comorbidity.