At a 12-month follow-up, mean episodes of cellulitis were improved from 2.7 ± 0.6 to 0.8 ± 0.2 ( P < 0.01) mean of circumferential difference was improved 3.2 ± 0.4 cm ( P < 0.03). The actual harvest rate of submental lymph nodes was 72.2%. Sixty-one percent of the lymph nodes were located in the central two-quarters of the line drawn from the mental protuberance to the mandibular angle. The mean number of submental lymph nodes on preoperative MRI was 7.2 ± 2.4, on preoperative sonography was 3.2 ± 1.1, on intraoperative finding was 3.1 ± 0.6, postoperative sonography was 4.6 ± 1.8, and postoperative CTA was 5.2 ± 1.9. Two hundred fifteen lymph nodes were identified in 30 submandibular regions by MRI. The outcome was compared between preoperatively and postoperatively. The number of submental lymph nodes was compared among preoperative MRI, preoperative sonography, intraoperative finding, postoperative sonography, and postoperative computed tomography angiography. Methods:įifteen patients who underwent 19 VSLN flap transfers for upper or lower limb lymphedema were retrospectively analyzed. This study was to investigate the anatomy and distribution of vascularized submental lymph node (VSLN) flap using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and their clinical outcome. Submental lymph node transfer has proved to be an effective approach for the treatment of lymphedema.
The work cannot be changed in any way or used commercially without permission from the journal.
#Submandibular lymph nodes license#
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives License 4.0 (CCBY-NC-ND), where it is permissible to download and share the work provided it is properly cited. Ming-Huei Cheng, MD, MBA, FACS, Division of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, 5 Fu-Hsing Street, Kueishan, Taoyuan 333, Taiwan, E-mail: Ming-Huei Cheng at Chang Gung Memorial Hospital is responsible for paying for the Article Processing Charge. Received for publication Januaccepted January 5, 2018.ĭisclosure: The authors have no financial interest to declare in relation to the content of this article. From the *Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Virgen de la Arrixaca University Clinical Hospital, Murcia, Spain †Department of Medical Imaging and Intervention, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Chang Gung University, College of Medicine, Taoyuan, Taiwan ‡Division of Reconstructive Microsurgery, Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University Taoyuan, Taiwan and §Center for Tissue Engineering, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.