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Muñoz-Jimenez et al. Plast Aesthet Res 2018;5:14 Plastic and
DOI: 10.20517/2347-9264.2018.04 Aesthetic Research

Original Article Open Access

A novel highly specialized functional flap: omohyoid
inferior belly muscle

Gerado Muñoz-Jimenez, Jose E. Telich-Tarriba, Damian Palafox-Vidal, Alexander Cardenas-Mejia
Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division, Hospital General “Dr. Manuel Gea González”, Postgraduate Division of the Medical
School, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico City 14080, Mexico.

Correspondence to: Dr. Alexander Cardenas-Mejia, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Division, Hospital General “Dr. Manuel
Gea González”, Postgraduate Division of the Medical School, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Calzada de Tlalpan
4800, Mexico City 14080, Mexico. E-mail: alexcardenas@hotmail.com

How to cite this article: Muñoz-Jimenez G, Telich-Tarriba JE, Palafox-Vidal D, Cardenas-Mejia A. A novel highly specialized
functional flap: omohyoid inferior belly muscle. Plast Aesthet Res 2018;5:14. http://dx.doi.org/10.20517/2347-9264.2018.04
Received: 23 Jan 2018 First Decision: 9 Mar 2018 Revised: 12 Mar 2018 Accepted: 26 Mar 2018 Published: 23 Apr 2018

Science Editor: Raúl González-García Copy Editor: Jun-Yao Li Production Editor: Cai-Hong Wang

Abstract
Aim: There is no previous description on the anatomy of the inferior belly of the omohyoid muscle. This muscle has
specific morphological characteristic that make it appealing when solving specialized reconstructive problems. Our
objective is to describe the microsurgical anatomy of the inferior belly from the omohyoid muscle.

Methods: Supraclavicular bilateral dissection in 5 anatomic models (fresh human cadavers). Measurements were
taken with a millimetric caliper. Statistical analysis was performed with measures of central tendency.

Results: Eight muscles were dissected in 5 anatomic models. Average dimensions were: 93 mm long, 12 mm wide,
and 7.5 mm thickness. The vascular pedicles showed great anatomical variability. In 2 flaps (1 model) irrigation came
exclusively from transverse cervical vessels, in the remaining models the pedicles came directly from the subclavian
vessels; 2 flaps had an accessory minor pedicle from the transverse cervical vessels. The diameter of all vascular
pedicles was less than 0.8 mm, with an average length of 22.3 mm. The nerve pedicle came from ansa cervicalis in all
flaps, with an average length of 27.8 mm.

Conclusion: Based on the findings we conclude that omohyoid muscle could be a reconstructive option when small
functional flaps are required, such as facial reanimation surgery, sphincters, ptosis and vocal cord reconstruction, and
blink restoration surgery although more anatomical studies are required to determine the microsurgical feasibility,
excursion and strength of the muscle, and axonal load in this new myofunctional flap.

Keywords: Neck muscles, free tissue flaps, cadaver, models, anatomic, supermicrosurgery, infrahyoid muscles,
omohyoid muscle

© The Author(s) 2018. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0
International License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use,
sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, for any purpose, even commercially, as long
as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license,
and indicate if changes were made.

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