A radial forearm free flap is one way of filling a hole which is left when a cancer has been removed. It is one of the most common ways of replacing tissue in the head and neck, particularly after mouth cancers have been removed. It can be used to replace large parts of the mouth and has the advantage that when it heals it does not shrink so that hopefully speech and swallowing will not be greatly affected. For the procedure, a surgeon takes a piece of skin from the inside surface of the patient's forearm near the wrist. The skin and fat layer in this region are removed (the flap)...