Radial forearm versus anterolateral thigh flap reconstruction after hemiglossectomy: functional assessment of swallowing and speech

Abstract

The authors retrospectively compared the results of postoperative speech and swallowing in patients who had undergone hemiglossectomy for carcinoma of the anterior tongue. Immediate reconstruction in 16 patients was with a free radial forearm flap and in another 16 with an anterolateral thigh flap. Clinical speech pathology evaluation included the Fletcher time-to-time maximum syllable repetition rate, multiple rhyme test, and overall quality and intelligibility of the patients' speech. Evaluation of swallowing included deglutition duration, bolus volume, and ingestion rate. The functional results with both flaps were adequate, and the two groups did not differ significantly between each other for either speech or swallowing.