Repair and Reconstruction of Penetrating Defects in Oral-Maxillofacial Area

Abstract

Oral buccal cancer, gingival cancer, tongue cancer, floor of mouth cancer, and palate cancer are common oral malignant tumors. Due to the anatomic location and biological characteristics, the advanced tumor after invasion of oral buccal area generally grows faster, and it will infiltrate deep to pass through the cheek muscle to reach the skin and spread around to the sites such as the jawbone and the pterygomandibular ligament; the postoperative recurrent oral cancers have a more extensive and hidden tumor growth range due to the disorder of anatomical structure and the loss of natural barrier. The treatment of such tumors is the comprehensive treatment based on surgery. The patients undergo radical surgery or extensive resection, and this can often lead to the formation of perforating defects in the buccal area, floor of the mouth, neck, or palatal area, of which the perforating defects in the buccal area are most commonly seen. The oral and maxillofacial area is one of the most important parts of the human body and assumes important functions such as maintaining appearance, eating, speaking, swallowing, and separating the nasal and oral cavities. If the defects in the oral and maxillofacial area are not repaired, they can cause severe appearance deformities and dysfunctions of speaking, chewing, swallowing, and breathing and bring catastrophic trauma to the patient’s physiology and psychology, thus seriously affecting the quality of life of the patient, and therefore one-stage repair is of great significance [1, 2].