Using a sternocleidomastoid muscle flap to prevent postoperative pharyngocutaneous fistula after total laryngectomy: a study of 88 cases.

Complications of total laryngectomy can have serious implications for the final outcome of treatment, including pharyngocutaneous fistula. We conducted a retrospective study of surgical techniques to determine how to best prevent or decrease the incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistula following total laryngectomy. We reviewed the hospital records of all patients who had undergone total laryngectomy for laryngeal carcinoma at Ghaem Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, from March 1989 through February 2005.