The musculomucosal facial artery flap: Harvesting technique and indications

Objectives. - Describe the anatomy and the harvesting technique of the facial artery musculomosal flap (FAMM) and precise its indications in head and neck reconstruction. Methods. - Retrospective review of our experience and review of the literature. Results. - Described by Pribaz et at. [Plast Reconstr Surg 90 (1992) 421-9] in 1992, the FAMM flap relies on the facial artery and can be used with a superior or inferior base depending on the deficit to be reconstructed. Venous drainage is usually assured by buccal plexus veinules instead of the facial vein. In our experience, the FAMM flap has been used mainly for limited soft tissue defects of the oral cavity following cancer ablation. Other indications were coverage of oropharyngeal, intranasal and orbital defects. The FAMM flap has also been used to treat mandibular osteoradionecrosis. Conclusions. - Harvesting of the FAMM flap is easy and safe. This flap shows versatility in head and neck reconstruction. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS.