Long-term functional outcomes of vascularized fibular and iliac flap for mandibular reconstruction: A systematic review and meta-analysis

To date, there is a lack of evidence related to the long-term evaluation of recipient-site functional outcomes following mandibular reconstruction with vascularized bone grafts. Therefore, the aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the long-term recipient-site functional outcomes in oral oncology patients who require mandibular reconstruction with either vascularized fibular flap (VFF) or vascularized iliac flap (VIF). An extensive electronic search was conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane, and Embase databases for identifying articles published until April 2020. All papers were dual screened for eligibility in accordance with the Preferred Reporting of Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses and Meta-analysis of Observational Studies in Epidemiology guidelines. The risk of bias was assessed using the MINORS tool. A meta-analysis of functional outcome parameters was performed to estimate single incidence rates. A total of 257 patients with a mean follow-up period of 38.6 ± 19.5 months were included in this meta-analysis, where 174 patients underwent VFF reconstruction and 83 patients involved reconstruction with VIF. The functional outcomes in patients reconstructed with VIF showed improved scoring for mastication, deglutition, diet, and speech. Speech showed highest score among all functional parameters, whereas, mastication was the most poorly recovered parameter in relation to reconstruction with both flaps. No significant difference in functional outcomes was observed between both flaps. Current evidence seems to indicate that VIF offers improved long-term recipient-site functional outcomes. Yet, considering a high level of data heterogeneity in published studies, future long-term standardized comparative studies should be conducted.