Methods
head and neck surgery, Cancer
GROUP B, COMPLICATIONS, CANCER
We performed a parallel group clinical trial in patients who underwent midface and scalp reconstruction with free tissue flaps in the department of head and neck surgery of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute from April 2018 to April 2022. This study was approved by the IRB of the Brazilian National Cancer Institute and registered in an international clinical trials database (ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT05749120). All participants signed an informed consent form. The following inclusion criteria were employed: (1) Patients eligible to subtotal, total, or extensive radical oncologic maxillectomy, or advanced scalp oncologic resection; (2) Patients with clinical conditions suitable for major surgery; (3) Complete medical records. Patients were randomized into two groups by the main author in blocks of four patients for each technique (one to one ratio) who were blinded to the intervention, namely Group A: the superficial temporal recipient vessels; and Group B: the cervical recipient vessels. Patient gender and age, cause and classification of the defect, flap choice for reconstruction, recipient vessels, postoperative course, and complications were recorded and analyzed. Patients who died within a period of less than 30 days of the surgical intervention or who missed follow-up for a period of less than 3 months were excluded.