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Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2000;126:913.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

As myocutaneous flaps revolutionized head and neck reconstruction in the 1980s, so did free flaps in the 1990s. The quality of reconstructions that match tissue types and contour using free flaps vastly exceeds that of the amorphous blobs we were saddled with using only pedicled muscle flaps. Despite these advances, however, myocutaneous flaps still play an important role in reconstruction—especially in salvage or higher-risk cases. For instance, a pectoralis flap in a patient with a partial hypopharyngeal and/or laryngectomy defect has very little increased morbidity because of loss of the muscle, and failure of a pectoralis flap is a rare event indeed.

Figure appears in full text version. John T. Truelson, MD

Since free flaps are generally harvested simultaneously with the resection, there is a statistically significant increase, but no clinically meaningful difference, in operative time. Cost is likewise an irrelevant issue, especially in the era of managed care. While surgeons' fees and operative time may . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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