Abstract

Background: Neck contracture scars due to burn sequelae greatly affect the function and aesthetics of the patient. There are many treatment methods, such as half-thickness skin grafting, Wolfe-Krause (WK) thick skin grafting, and microsurgical skin grafting. Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages, but adjacent skin flaps have advantages that are difficult to meet by any other method. That is, adjacent skin flaps have thickness and skin tone quite similar to neck skin. Therefore, we apply superficial cervical perforator flaps to treat neck contracture scars at Cho Ray Hospital.

Method: Retrospective description of a series of cases, research location of the Burn and Plastic Surgery Department of Cho Ray Hospital, from January 2025 to April 2025 for patients with contracture scars admitted from 2017 to 2023. Inclusion criteria: Patients with contracture scars in the neck area with reduced ROM (Range of Motion) > 20%, the donor area has healthy skin. Exclusion criteria: contracture scars in the neck area with ROM < 20%, the donor area has bad scars.

Results: There were 15 patients, average age 39.2 + 11.75 years, youngest 15 years, oldest 68 years. The average area of ​​the superficial cervical artery perforator flap is 128.37 + 44.67 cm², the largest flap was 225 cm², the smallest flap was 60 cm², the average flap length was 17.13 + 4.49 cm, the width of the flap was 7.37 cm + 0.88 cm. The long-term results after surgery of the skin flap were good in 14 cases, accounting for 93.3%.

Conclusion: Superior superficial cervical percutaneous artery flap for treatment of cervical contracture scars gives good results.