[Anatomo-functional consequences of the radical surgery of the cervico-cephalic region in oncologic patients]

The role of surgery in head and neck cancer treatment is now well established, as it appears the most effective approach to such patients, while other therapies (i.e. chemotherapy, radiotherapy) can be of some help as second choice procedures. Surgery demonstrates however its own pitfalls, as it can often cause secondary anatomo-functional defects. The main problems appear to be related to the impossibility of physiological feeding following composite resection for oral cancer. An immediate reconstruction by transposition of myocutaneous flaps is of the utmost importance, as it reestablishes the preoperative condition lessening hospitalization time and postoperative disabilities. Neurological lesions, an unfrequent major complication of cervical lymphadenectomy, can cover a wide range of seriousness, from hardly detectable sensorial deficits to the impossibility of spontaneous ventilation. In this paper the Authors, on the basis of their experience, describe the measures to be taken in order to avoid secondary lesions (or to minimize their effects) in head and neck cancer surgery.