Introduction: Therapy of choice for oral squamous cell carcinomas is total surgical resection if possible. However, postoperative complications such as wound infections, scarring, loss of function and dysphagia are very common and can severely impact quality of life. We used Suprathel® 250 as an artificial mucosa graft to cover the wound after tumor resection to limit these complications.

Material and methods: A 84 year old male Patient was diagnosed with two seperate squamous cell carcinomas of the left side of the tongue. The patient did not give consent to reconstruction with a radial-flap nor to a selective neck dissection. After trans-oral surgery we used Suprathel® 250, an artificial absorbable membrane, as a wound cover. We monitored the wound healing, pain and dysphagia after surgery.

Results: Shortly after surgery oral diet could be started and the nasogastric tube removed. Pain was very limited and no wound infection occurred. The movement of the tongue was not inhibited, there was no scarring and the wound healed very nicely.

Conclusion: Using Suprathel® 250 after trans-oral surgery of squamous cell carcinoma is a viable option for mucosa replacement that can lead to faster healing, less dysphagia, pain and wound infections and therefore quicker discharge time. Further studies should be undertaken to confirm these findings and maybe expand the indications to oropharyngeal cancer or tonsillectomy.

Nein