A Longitudinal Study of a Novel Modified Submental Rectangular Flap for Postoperative Laryngeal Stenosis Reconstruction.

Abstract

This study aims to report and evaluate the efficacy of using a novel submental flap for addressing laryngeal stenosis. This study involved patients with glottic and supraglottic laryngeal stenosis following horizontal/vertical partial laryngectomy who were refractory to repeated interventions. Kaplan-Meier curves were used to demonstrate the decannulation, and the Mantel-Cox Log-rank test was used to compare the rate difference in quality-of-life subgroup analysis. The average follow-up time was 30.04 ± 10.60 for all included patients; the flap survival was 100%, with only one patient in the horizontal laryngectomy group reported to have a flap-related complication. The decannulation rate was 93.75% and 80% in the horizontal and vertical groups, respectively, without any statistical analysis (p < 0.05). The average decannulation time was 10.17 ± 5.24 weeks in the horizontal group and 12.25 ± 5.56 in the vertical group. The modified submental flap technique provides a convenient and effective approach for laryngeal reconstruction in patients with postoperative laryngeal stenosis.