Primary surgical management with radial forearm free flap reconstruction in T4 oropharyngeal cancer: Complications and functional outcomes.

PURPOSE: Functional outcomes and complication rates after open surgery for advanced-stage oropharyngeal cancers are rarely reported. These measures are critical for choice of treatment modality and patient counseling. We describe the long term functional outcomes and associated complications of primary surgical management of T4 oropharyngeal cancers reconstructed with radial forearm free flaps.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of 40 patients with T4 oropharyngeal cancers treated between 2005 and 2015 at a tertiary care center.

RESULTS: Forty patients with T4 oropharyngeal cancers underwent open surgical resection and radial forearm free flap reconstruction at the time of surgery. Mandibulotomy was required in 33 (82.5%) cases. Thirty-five (87.5%) patients received adjuvant radiation or combined chemotherapy and radiation. Tracheostomy was performed in all patients, but every patient was eventually decannulated. Twenty (57.1%) patients required gastrostomy tube placement at some point during treatment; however, 91.4% were on a completely oral diet with a mean FOSS score of 1.6 by 1year after completion of treatment. The addition of adjuvant treatment was the only factor significantly associated with poorer FOSS scores. The overall rates of short and long-term complications were 60.0% and 57.1% respectively. The most common short and long-term complications were infection (30.0%) and velopharyngeal insufficiency (25.7%) respectively.

CONCLUSIONS: Traditional open surgical approaches to large tumors of the oropharynx carry higher complication rates than more recent advanced transoral approaches. However, they can still be utilized with excellent long-term functional results in certain cases of advance oropharyngeal cancers not amenable to transoral approaches. With careful reconstruction of oropharyngeal defects, over 90% of patients can achieve a completely oral diet.