• Fábio Roberto Pinto, Carina Rosa Malena, Christiana Maria Ribeiro Salles Vanni, Fábio de Aquino Capelli, Leandro Luongo de Matos, and Jossi Ledo Kanda.
• FMABC, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil.
• Sao Paulo Med J. 2010 Dec 1; 128 (6): 336341336-41.

Context And ObjectivePedicled flaps play an important role in cancer treatment centers, particularly in developing and emerging countries. The aim of this study was to identify factors that may cause complications and influence the final result from reconstructions using pectoralis major myocutaneous flaps (PMMFs) for head and neck defect repair following cancer resection.Design And SettingCross-sectional study at the Hospital de Ensino Padre Anchieta of Faculdade de Medicina do ABC (FMABC).MethodsData on 58 patients who underwent head and neck defect reconstruction using PMMFs were reviewed. The final result from the reconstruction (success or failure) and the complications observed were evaluated in relation to the patients' ages, area reconstructed, disease stage, previous oncological treatment and need for blood transfusion.ResultsThere were no total flap losses. The reconstruction success rate was 93.1%. Flap-related complications occurred in 43.1% of the cases, and half of them were considered major. Most of the complications were successfully treated. Defects originating in the hypopharynx were correlated with the development of major complications (p = 0.02) and with reconstruction failure (p < 0.001). Previous oncological treatment negatively influenced the reconstruction success (p = 0.04).ConclusionsSince the risk factors for developing major complications and reconstruction failure are known, it is important to heed the technical details and provide careful clinical support for patients in a more critical condition, so that better results from using PMMFs can be obtained.

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