Frey syndrome is one of the potential sequelae of parotidectomy. Various medical and surgical treatments have been used in an attempt to avoid this embarrassing condition. Recently, interposing barriers between the overlying skin flap and the parotid bed, such as the sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) flap, have been used to prevent this condition. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of using this flap on Frey syndrome. A series of 138 patients who underwent subtotal or total parotidectomy from January 1995 to December 2001 were divided into two groups. One group had an SCM flap reconstruction (n = 24), and the other group did not (n = 19). A subjective clinical questionnaire and the objective Minor's starch iodine test were used to evaluate the incidence of this syndrome. The postoperative period varied from 12 to 90 months. The frequency exact test of Fisher and the nonparametric test of Mann-Whitney were applied. The association with the absence of sweating and the presence of the SCM flap was significant (p = 0.0002). There was no association with flushing or pain and the flap. There was a significant association with the starch iodine test and the presence of the flap (p = 0.0016). The only significant association of the epidemiologic and clinical characterization of the patients with a negative or positive Minor's test was between sweating and a positive Minor's test (p = 0.0001). The only significant aspect in the diagnosis of Frey syndrome is gustatory sweating. There is a significant association with a negative Minor's test and the presence of the SCM flap and with sweating and a positive Minor's test. The SCM flap is an efficient method for preventing Frey syndrome following parotidectomy.

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Skin study of the submental region in cadavers made possible the evaluation of its regional characteristics. Sex or race were not reported, but the age group most appropriate to liposuction was considered. In this way, the authors believed that through standards established at the time, results, as to the skin retraction in liposuction, will be able to be analyzed in a comparative form in the future.

The analysis of the abdominal skin on cadavers has made it possible for the authors to evaluate the skin's regional characteristics, taking into consideration the age group to be lipoaspirated regardless of race or sex. In this way, norms are established which in the future may be used to comparatively analyze results related to the cutaneous retraction after plastic surgery lipoaspiration.