Mangement of a cheek fistula associated with false ankylosis

A 14-year-old boy presented with a Grade II left cheek fistula and inability to open the mouth following gangrenous stomatitis in early childhood. The treatment of the patient by multistaged reconstruction of the cheek defect is discussed. A large turnover flap was used for the lining, a technique which obviates the need for a second lining flap, and thus eliminates the disfigurement of a donor site. Also, it uses the healthy skin that would otherwise have been discarded in the creation of mucosal flaps.