Reconstruction after maxillectomy
Reviewed by Miles Bannister

Maxillectomy for tumours of the paranasal sinuses creates large, complex defects. Whilst free flaps appear to be the preferred method of reconstruction, the best type is unclear. This article discusses a single unit’s experience using different free flaps for reconstruction. The authors discuss how flap survival and swallowing function can be high following surgery and suggest that better cosmesis can be attained with myocutaneous flaps. No single type appears to be better though; patient assessment and defect size are the best determinants of the free flap type that should be used. 

Microsurgical reconstruction of maxillectomy defects: experience of 24 cases.
Gomes N, Zenha H, Azevedp L, et al.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PLASTIC SURGERY
2013;36:619-26.