Wilbrand JF, et al. - This research encompassed an investigation of the patient outcomes following a pedicled genial “visor drop-down” surgical procedure, in patients with oral squamous cell carcinomas (OSCCs). This approach, also known as the ex corpore linguae, appeared to be a suitable technique for the radical resection of dorsally located OSCCs. It exhibited a promising 5-year survival rate and satisfactory postoperative oral function.

Methods

• The recruited candidates included the patients who underwent surgery using the pedicled genial “visor drop-down” approach at the Maxillofacial Department of the University Hospital Giessen in Germany between 1995 and 2010.
• The eligibility criteria was that patients diagnosed with OSCC had no history of other intraoral malignancy or any other form of malignancy.
• A preliminary questionnaire was completed for each patient based on retrospective analysis of available data from medical reports.

Results

• The inclusion and exclusion criteria was met by 51 patients.
• The excluded candidates were 32 patients in number, wherein the exclusion was due to OSCC recurrence or acquisition of a different type of malignancy.
• The male to female distribution of patients was found to be 30 to 21 (58.8% to 41.2%), and the mean ages of female and male patients were 57.7 (SD 14.3) and 55.7 (SD 14.4) years, respectively.
• Nearly 76.5% of tumors were located along the dorsal aspect of the tongue, 17.6% were along the floor of the mouth, 3.9% were in the dorsal mandibular region, and 1.9% were in the dorsal palatal region.
• It was reported that the mean overall operation time was 6.25 hours, and 28 patients received microvascular flaps for reconstruction.
• Data from final histopathological examination recommended primary in-sano resection of the tumor in 84.3% of patients.
• Researchers determine that the 5-year postoperative survival rate was 52.9%; 31.3% of the patient cohort was not followed up for the full 5-year period.
• Moreover, 15.7% of the patients died during the study period.
• Unimpaired functional outcomes were discovered in 86.3% of patients, with regard to swallowing and speech.