Negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) has had an expanded role in the management of complex wounds including its increasing use for complex wounds in the head and neck region. Challenges for use in the head and neck region include variations in surface topography and the proximity of sensitive mouth, nose, ear, eye, and tracheal openings. Despite these challenges, NPWT has been used in the head and neck immediately following free flap surgery, to prepare wounds for skin grafting or local flaps, to treat orocutaneous and pharyngocutaneous fistulas, to treat necrotizing and deep neck space infections, to temporize and palliate, and to treat chronic wounds with exposed bone and hardware among others. This review demonstrates the proven track record of successful uses of NPWT in the aforementioned scenarios, provides suggestions to improve efficacy, as well as an algorithm for use in certain clinical situations.

ObjectiveUtilization of free tissue transfers in head and neck reconstruction has greatly increased due to their dependability and reliability. Anterolateral thigh (ALT) and rectus abdominus (RA) free flaps may provide too much soft tissue bulk, especially in patients with a large body habitus. A radial forearm free flap (RFFF) may be modified with a “beaver tail” (BT), which provides a flap whose bulk may be tailored to a defect. The purpose of this paper is to describe the technique, how it can be used for a variety of defects and the outcomes of these reconstructions.MethodsA retrospective review of prospectively collected data was performed at single tertiary care center between 2012 and 2022. BT‐RFFF was designed by leaving a fibroadipose tail vascularized to branches of the radial artery or separated from the vascular pedicle and left attached to the proximal portion of the skin paddle. Functional outcomes, tracheostomy dependence, and gastrostomy tube (G‐tube) dependence as well as complications were determined.ResultsFifty‐eight consecutive patients undergoing BTRFFF were included. Defects reconstructed included: oral tongue and/or floor of mouth 32 (55%), oropharynx 10 (17%), parotid 6 (10%), orbit 6 (10%), lateral temporal bone 3 (5%), and mentum 1 (2%). Indications for BTRFF were: need for bulk when the ALT and RA were too thick (53%) and need for a separate subcutaneous flap for contouring or deep defect lining (47%). Complications directly related to beavertail included a widened forearm scar (100%), wrist contracture (2%) partial flap loss (2%), and flap loss requiring a revision flap (3%). Ninety‐three percent of patients with oral/oropharyngeal defects and 12‐month follow‐up tolerated oral intake without aspiration and 76% were tube‐independent. Ninety‐three percent were tracheostomy‐free at last follow‐up.ConclusionThe BTRFF is a useful tool for reconstructing complex 3D defects requiring bulk where an ALT or rectus would otherwise provide too much bulk.

Background Recent literature shows that tumor volume (TV) in T3 laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) is associated with response to radiation therapy. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of TV on survival outcomes in patients undergoing total laryngectomy (TL). Methods One hundred and seventeen patients with LSCC undergoing TL between 2013 and 2020 at the University of Florida were included. TV was measured using a previously validated method on preoperative‐CT scans. Multivariable CoxPH models for overall survival (OS) and disease‐specific survival (DSS), metastasis‐free survival (MFS), and recurrence‐free survival (RFS) were developed with TV. Results Mean age was 61.5 years and 81.2% were male. Higher TV was associated with decreased OS, MFS, DSS, and RFS with adjusted hazard ratios 1.02 (95%CI: 1.01, 1.03), 1.01, (95%CI: 1.00, 1.03), 1.03 (95%CI: 1.01, 1.06), and 1.02 (95%CI: 1.00, 1.03) respectively. TV >7.1 cc had worse prognoses. Conclusions TV appears associated with decreased survival in LSCC treated with TL.

BackgroundThe objective of this study was to examine the utility of postoperative radiation for low and intermediate grade cancers of the parotid and submandibular glands.MethodsThe authors conducted a retrospective, Canadian‐led, international, multi‐institutional analysis of a patient cohort with low or intermediate grade salivary gland cancer of the parotid or submandibular gland who were treated from 2010 until 2020 with or without postoperative radiation therapy. A multivariable, marginal Cox proportional hazards regression analysis was performed to quantify the association between locoregional recurrence (LRR) and receipt of postoperative radiation therapy while accounting for patient‐level factors and the clustering of patients by institution.ResultsIn total, 621 patients across 14 tertiary care centers were included in the study; of these, 309 patients (49.8%) received postoperative radiation therapy. Tumor histologies included 182 (29.3%) acinic cell carcinomas, 312 (50.2%) mucoepidermoid carcinomas, and 137 (20.5%) other low or intermediate grade primary salivary gland carcinomas. Kaplan–Meier LRR‐free survival at 10 years was 89.0% (95% confidence interval [CI], 84.9%–93.3%). In multivariable Cox regression analysis, postoperative radiation therapy was independently associated with a lower hazard of LRR (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.53; 95% CI, 0.29–0.97). The multivariable model estimated that the marginal probability of LRR within 10 years was 15.4% without radiation and 8.8% with radiation. The number needed to treat was 16 patients (95% CI, 14–18 patients). Radiation therapy had no benefit in patients who had early stage, low‐grade salivary gland cancer without evidence of nodal disease and negative margins.ConclusionsPostoperative radiation therapy may reduce LLR in some low and intermediate grade salivary gland cancers with adverse features, but it had no benefit in patients who had early stage, low‐grade salivary gland cancer with negative margins.