“…In particular, the carotid ''blow-out'' is a dreaded complication following afterloading. In the literature, the incidence of carotid bleeding following brachytherapy ranges from 5 to 12% (Park et al, 1991;Chen et al, 1996;Ross et al, 2004). Generally, we followed the concept that the coverage of critical structures with well-vascularized tissue of microvascular or pedicled flaps reduces the danger of wound breakdown, which is supported by several authors (Stafford and Dearnaley, 1988;Quon and Harrison, 2002).…”