Ankle instability and gait disturbance after free fibula flap reconstruction in head and neck cancer reconstruction: A systematic review.

ABSTRACT:

Introduction

The free fibula flap is a workhorse flap for bony reconstruction of the craniofacial skeleton. The aim of the study was to conduct a systematic review to investigate the postoperative donor site complications and functional outcomes, specifically ankle instability (AI) and gait disturbances (GD), for patients who have received a free fibula flap (FFF) for head and neck cancer reconstruction.

Methods

We designed a PRISMA-compliant systematic review, which was registered prospectively in PROSPERO. Searches were designed with a health science librarian and included MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL and PEDro. Risk of bias assessment was conducted for each included study, with an assessment of quality using GRADE.

Results

Following exclusion of duplicate entries, a tot

SUBMITTER: Holm S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12405634 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature