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Introduction: Pelvic exenteration is a highly invasive procedure, with a reported rate of 20%–80% for serious complications. Thus, the prevention of postoperative complications is a major issue. Many previous reports have emphasized the importance of filling the dead space to prevent postoperative complications. In addition to filling the dead space, we believe that achieving sufficient drainage is extremely important. In this paper, we present a new combined method of the extended rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap and vacuum drainage with multiple drains, which achieved a lower frequency of complications. Case Presentation: The subjects were 6 patients who underwent reconstruction following pelvic exenteration during a 7-year period between April 2005 and September 2013. We retrospectively measured the volume of the pelvic cavity and that of the rectus abdominis flap on lateral computed tomography (CT) scans to calculate the percentage of the dead space that was filled by the flap. There were no problems with flap engraftment in any of the patients. There were no serious complications, and no patient required additional surgery. The percentage of the dead space filled ranged from 25% to 46% (mean: 32%). Conclusion: The rectus flap + vacuum drainage method, which uses an extended rectus abdominis myocutaneous flap to decrease the pelvic dead space and multiple vacuum suction drains, was associated with the prevention of serious complications.

The functional and esthetic results of reconstructive surgery after extended total maxillectomy or extended orbital exenteration greatly depend on the quality of the orbital reconstruction. We developed dynamic eye socket reconstruction using temporalis transfer to achieve good orbital reconstruction, and examined the usefulness of our technique. Five patients (three men and two women, aged 44-72 years) who underwent extensive resection of midfacial malignancies were treated with dynamic eye socket reconstruction using temporalis transfer. In most cases, eye socket reconstruction was performed approximately 1 year after the initial surgery, and temporalis transfer was used after maturation of the eye socket. The follow-up period ranged from 16 to 120 months (average 63.8 months). Movement of the upper and lower eyelids was achieved in all cases, and definite creases at the lateral canthus were observed in two patients. A good shape in the reconstructed medial and lateral canthal areas was maintained in all patients. Our reconstruction technique is extremely effective in creating natural creases ('crow's feet') at the lateral canthus during smiling, enabling movement of the upper and lower eyelids, and maintaining a sharp palpebral morphology.