Humans ; Male ; Myocutaneous Flap ; Neck Injuries ; etiology ; surgery ; Pectoralis Muscles ; transplantation ; Radiation Injuries ; surgery ; Reconstructive Surgical Procedures ; methods ; Skin Ulcer ; etiology ; surgery ; Tissue Transplantation ; methods

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effect of the combined application of dissociate skin flap and vacuum sealing drainage (VSD) for the repairing for defect after surgical management of huge neck neoplasms. METHOD: Nineteen patients with huge neck malignant tumor involving the skin of the neck were given radical operation, making use of VSD covering the wound surface. After giving 6.65-7.98 mm Hg continuous negative pressure drainage for 72 h, the patients turned to be treated by intermittent negative pressure therapy with 2 min free interval after each treatment period for 5 min. After dismantling the VSD at 7th to 10th day postoperatively, the good wounds covered by granulation tissue were treated by the skin graft operation with dissociate skin flap from thighs; as for the wounds of which the granulation tissue didn't grow well and important cervical tissues was not fully covered by the granulation tissue, VSD was applied again for 1 week, followed by the skin graft operation. RESULT: Nineteen patients have received a total of 23 times of VSD wound treatment, one-stage operation time was significantly shortened. The granulation tissue grew faster on the wound after VSD treatment, and the important cervical tissues such as great vessels could be well covered. The infection and tumor recurrence were observed directly after dismantling the VSD. The skin graft transplantation would be performed after 1-3 weeks. CONCLUSION The treatment by vacuum sealing drainage combined with skin graft for surgical wounds of huge neck tumor postoperatively has the advantages of simple operation, little injury and promotion of the wound healing, which is an effective way for treatment of neck skin defect by surgical operation for the huge tumor.
Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; surgery ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy ; Skin Transplantation ; methods ; Soft Tissue Injuries ; etiology ; surgery ; Surgical Flaps