Study Cohort
We conducted a retrospective, multicenter chart review of patients with solid malignancies originating of the cheek who underwent tumor resection and free flap reconstruction between 2012 and 2017. Patients were treated at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Austria (Center 1), the Institute of Head and Neck Diseases, Evangelical Hospital Vienna (Center 2), the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, USA (Center 3), and the Department of Head and Neck Surgery, Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Lahore, Pakistan (Center 4).
Data of potential patients were provided by attending centers that were further evaluated regarding appropriateness by two authors individually (S.J., B.E.). Patients had to fulfill following inclusion criteria: carcinomas with infiltration of the cheek, including oral carcinomas, carcinomas of the nasal cavity, skin and parotid gland (I), solid carcinomas (II), radical tumor resection with free flap reconstruction (III), primary or recurrent carcinomas (IV). In case of any disagreement, cases were reevaluated until consensus could be achieved. Finally, 47 patients were eligible for inclusion and analysis.