Parotidectomy: A Plastic Approach

Abstract.

Three disadvantages are frequent after parotidectomy: a scar affecting the neck, a deep hollow between the sternocleidomastoid muscle and the mandible (the larger the resection is, the deeper is the hollow), and a sweat secretion. These disadvantages can be prevented or reduced by using four simple procedures: (1) using a facelift incision; (2) using a very simple and original ``trick,'' by displacing outward the posterior belly of the digastric muscle; (3) using a flap with an upper pedicle taken from the sternocleidomastoid muscle; and (4) using a double free graft, taken from the superficial and deep temporal fascias. These two grafts lay down on the net constituted by the preceding flaps. They line the skin, thus blocking the wrong innervation.