Successful microsurgical primary replantation of an amputated cheek

Abstract

Standard secondary reconstruction procedures are usually applied for the amputation of facial soft tissue, although these procedures lead to unsatisfactory results: in case of an avulsed cheek, a number of important vital cheek functions cannot be restored. More importantly, patients with artificial cheeks often face considerable psychological and social difficulties. Therefore, it appeared to be of interest to conserve soft tissue amputated from the face and to perform a replantation, despite the known problem that cheek veins cannot be re-anastomosed, especially in avulsion injuries. Here, we report a successful microsurgical cheek replantation in a 55-year-old female patient, who had lost cheek soft tissue together with parts of her mouth.