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Tracheostomy in free‐flap reconstruction of the oral cavity: can it be avoided? A cohort study of 187 patients
Author(s) -
Dawson Rebecca,
Phung Daniel,
Every James,
Gunawardena Dulan,
Low TsuHui,
Ch'ng Sydney,
Clark Jonathan,
Wykes James,
Palme Carsten E.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
anz journal of surgery
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.426
H-Index - 70
eISSN - 1445-2197
pISSN - 1445-1433
DOI - 10.1111/ans.16762
Subject(s) - medicine , free flap reconstruction , surgery , free flap , glossectomy , osteoradionecrosis , retrospective cohort study , oral cavity , tongue , cohort , head and neck , comorbidity , head and neck cancer , demographics , intubation , laryngectomy , dentistry , radiation therapy , larynx , pathology , sociology , demography
We retrospectively investigated prophylactic tracheostomy use in head and neck free‐flap reconstruction to identify groups of patients who avoided tracheostomy. Long operative time, resection site, number of resected subsites, floor of mouth resection, glossectomy, lingual release, extent of tongue resection and soft palate resection were all significantly associated with tracheostomy use. In a well‐supported, high‐volume centre, a personalized approach can avoid unnecessary tracheostomy use in head and neck free‐flap reconstruction.