Allen L. Feng, MD, Receives 2025 PRS Award for Best Head and Neck Reconstruction Paper

Congratulations to Allen L. Feng, MD, Assistant Professor of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, at Harvard Medical School, who received the 2025 Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery (PRS) Award for Best Head and Neck Reconstruction Paper.

His study, titled “Color Match Following Free Flap Surgery in Head and Neck Reconstruction: A Colorimetric and Aesthetic Analysis,” was selected from among all 2024 publications in the prestigious PRS journal, following a rigorous editorial and citation-based review conducted by the journal’s leadership.

This award-winning study is the first to provide an in vivo, quantitative analysis of long-term color match outcomes following head and neck free flap reconstruction. The authors evaluated donor sites including the anterolateral thigh (ALT), radial forearm (RFFF), medial sural artery perforator (MSAP), lateral arm, scapular, fibula, and parascapular flaps. Their findings showed that MSAP, lateral arm and parascapular flaps achieved significantly better color match than more traditional donor sites. Notably, color match improved over time, particularly beyond six months postoperatively and in patients who received postoperative radiation.

While functional outcomes are often prioritized, this study highlights the critical importance of aesthetic results in head and neck reconstruction, particularly their impact on patient satisfaction, psychosocial well-being and overall quality of life.