Impact of sarcopenia on postoperative surgical site infections in patients undergoing flap reconstruction for oral cancer

Impact of sarcopenia on postoperative surgical site infections in patients undergoing flap reconstruction for oral cancer: Sarcopenia is characterized by progressive and generalized loss of skeletal muscle mass and strength. The aim of the study was to investigate the impact of skeletal muscle mass on surgical site infection (SSI) in flap reconstruction for defects after oral cancer resection. The subjects were a non-randomized, retrospective cohort of 106 patients who underwent this procedure after preoperative abdominal-lumbar computed tomography (CT). Cross-sectional areas (cm2) of skeletal muscles in the L3 region were measured by manual outlining on CT images.