Clinical application of nasal mucosa flap in the repair of nasopharyngeal skull base bone exposure after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma

Objective:To observe the effect of nasal mucosa flap in the repair of nasopharyngeal skull base bone exposure after radiotherapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma, and to provide a basis for the repair with nasal mucosa flap in skull base bone exposure after radiotherapy. Methods:The clinical data of 8 patients who underwent nasal endoscopic surgery were analyzed retrospectively. The survival of mucosal flap, the mucosal epithelialization of bone defect or exposed site, the improvement of main clinical symptoms and complications were followed up after operation. Results:Severe mucosal flap necrosis and bone exposure occurred in 1 case after operation, in the other 7 cases, the mucosal flap survived and the mucosal epithelium of nasopharynx recovered well. After operation, most of the patients' clinical symptoms such as headache and nasal odor were improved compared with those before operation. Conclusion:Nasal mucosal flap is a safe and minimally invasive autogenous material with good biocompatibility. It has a good application prospect in repairing bone defect or exposure of nasopharyngeal skull base after radiotherapy and is worth popularizing in clinic.