Fig. 1

Design of the L-shaped ALTP. Schematic diagram of the flap repair after hemiglossectomy with or without the tip of the tongue preserved (I-III Tongue tippreserving hemiglossectomy; IV-VI Standard hemiglossectomy; VII-VIII Donor area suture); the landmarks on the flap correspond to the defect. The landmarks of the tongue defect are as follows: A the most anterior point of the defect on the dorsum of the tongue; B foramen caecum of the tongue; C the posterolateral point of the tongue; D the outer edge of the pharyngeal defect; E the junction of the lingual gingiva of the posterior teeth and floor of the mouth; F the posterior point of the ventral tongue; G the frenum linguae; and H the anterior point of the defect on the ventral tongue (I–III tongue tip preserving hemilingual excision repair; IV–VI standard hemilingual excision repair; VII–VIII donor site suture)