Donor site morbidity of upper extremity flaps in head and neck reconstruction

Objective: This retrospective cohort study aims to compare donor site morbidity of three commonly used upper extremity flaps used in head and neck reconstructive surgery: scapular tip free flap (STFF), radial forearm free flap (RFFF), and pectoralis major pedicled flap (PMPF).

Methods: The billing database of an urban, academic, tertiary otolaryngology practice was queried to identify patients who underwent STFF, RFFF, and PMPF from 2020 to 2023. The primary outcome was identification of donor site pain and need for physical therapy (PT) referral after undergoing reconstruction.

Results: Seventy-three patients (44M:29F) underwent surgery that utilized upper extremity free or pedicled flaps. Patients undergoing free tissue transfer (FTT) were 5.455 times more likely to require PT referral compared to patients undergoing pedicled tissue transfer (PTT). Patients undergoing FTT were 3.417 times more likely to report donor site pain compared to patients undergoing PTT. There were no differences in post-operative PT referrals or post-operative donor site pain when comparing STFF or RFFF groups. Importantly, RFFF were primarily all fasciocutaneous flaps (33/35).

Conclusions: These findings have important implications when counselling patients regarding reconstructive options for complex head and neck surgery defects.