Lateral face reconstruction with the medial-based cervicopectoral flap.

The problem of reconstructing large defects involving the lateral facial skin following extirpative surgery for cancer was ideally addressed by the use of the cervicopectoral flap. It has proved reliable, easy to fashion, and cosmetically acceptable; yet it does not interfere with sound oncologic principles for carcinoma resection in the head and neck. It has received little exposure in the literature and we feel it is an underutilized flap. No major complications are reported with this flap in our series of six patients.