In 2010, founder and chief medical director of THANC, Dr. Mark Urken, described a bipaddled radio forearm free flap (RFFF) approach to complete closure of tracheoesophageal fistulae (TEF) which is an abnormal connection in one or more places between the esophagus (the tube that leads from the throat to the stomach) and the trachea (the tube that leads from the throat to the windpipe and lungs). In this article, THANC presents eight patients who have undergone a bipaddled RFFF for a total laryngectomy or total laryngopharyngectomy and achieved a successful reconstruction and closure of this complex defect.
Eliza H. Dewey, Jerry R. Castro MD, Jacqueline Mojica MS, Cathy L. Lazarus PhD, Henry K. Su BA, Erin H. Alpert BA, Laura L. Dos Reis BA, Mark L. Urken MD
Head & Neck, June 2015
