Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is associated with an increased risk of developing head and neck cancer (HNC), and negatively impacts cancer-specific survival.
Objective:
To measure the impact of HCV status on free tissue transfer failure, flap takeback, and length of stay in HNC patients undergoing reconstruction.
Methods:
We retrospectively reviewed patients who underwent head and neck free tissue transfer reconstruction at a single academic institution between August 2011 and June 2020.
Results:
In the HCV-infected group, total flap failure rate was 2.9% versus 1.3% in the control group and the takeback rate was 11.1% versus 9.6%. On multivariate analysis, HCV status was not associated with flap failure, flap takeback, or total length of hospital stay >7 days.
Conclusion:
In this study, HCV status was not associated with differences in postoperative complications or length of stay. Future research with greater numbers of HCV-positive study subjects is required to elucidate the effect of HCV infection in this patient population.
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