PubMed HealthSearch

SEARCH · PubMed Health

Results for “Neck Dissection”

Explore indexed PubMed citations for clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health research. Read source abstracts and follow each citation to its original PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Functional neck dissection. A description of operative technique.

The operative technique involved in functional neck dissection is described to clarify its stepwise execution. Recent interest in functional preservation demands therapeutic techniques that are oncologically reliable but not multilating. The functional neck dissection seems to be a reasonable alternative to radical radiotherapy and a preferred alternative to traditional neck dissection in the control of regional metastasis when disease in the neck is either occult of still confined to mobile lymph nodes.

Head and Neck Neoplasms

Bilateral radical neck dissection.

From January 1960 to December 1977, 61 patients had a simultaneous one-stage bilateral neck dissection with or without excision of the primary lesion, while 63 patients had a therapeutic second (two stage) neck dissection performed by our service. In ten patients, one or both of the internal jugular veins and spinal accessory nerve were preserved. Patients in both groups were staged, using the American Joint Commission 1977 clinical classification. All the pathologic specimens had lymph node clearance done. Simultaneous bilateral neck dissection, in the present study, has an operative mortality of 10%, with 11% life-threatening complications and with 62% significant postoperative facial swelling. There is an overall three- and five-year survival rate of 20% and 12.5%. Patients who had bilateral staged neck dissection had complications seen in 54%, with a 3.2% mortality rate. The overall three- and five-year survival in this group of patients was 60% and 38%, respectively.

Aged

Cervical metastases following radical neck dissection that preserved the spinal accessory nerve.

In contrast to the original neck dissection technique, the spinal accessory nerve is routinely sacrificed in the so-called classical neck dissection. The benefit of this routine has never been documented; on the contrary, facts have accumulated that indicate that the nerve should be preserved. The results in this article serve to emphasize this opinion. Of 80 patients who underwent radical neck dissection that preserved the spinal accessory nerve, the potential for cure was not jeopardized in a single case.

Accessory Nerve

Reconstruction of spinal accessory nerve after radical neck dissection.

Resection of the spinal accessory nerve in cases of radical neck dissection often causes considerable damage to the function of the shoulder girdle; it leads to limitation of the motion of the upper limb and pain in the shoulder girdle. It seems a sensible compromise to reconstruct the spinal accessory nerve in one-stage operation with radical neck dissection, which can often prevent extensive atrophy of the trapezius muscle, with a resultant improvement in the chance of successful rehabilitation. The technique of the operation is described: after completion of radical neck dissection, in one-stage operation an autogenous nerve transplant from the n. auricularis magnus is sewn onto the central and peripheral stumps of the spinal accessory nerve, which are protected by a "vein-muff" and the fascia of the muscle. After such spinal accessory nerve reconstruction, subjective complaints and objective symptoms were much milder in 6 patients than in the control group, which consisted of 10 patients who underwent a similar operation but without spinal accessory nerve reconstruction.

Accessory Nerve

Functional neck dissection for treatment of recurrent branchial remnants.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the role of functional neck dissection for treatment of cervical branchial remnants that are recurrent after previous surgical intervention. DESIGN: A retrospective review was undertaken of six patients undergoing functional neck dissection for excision of recurrent branchial anomalies treated over an 18-year period. SETTING: Academic tertiary referral medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Six patients with recurrent branchial cysts, sinuses, or fistulas. Each participant previously had undergone between one and 14 ineffective surgical procedures. INTERVENTION: Each patient was treated by functional neck dissection. OUTCOME MEASURES: Clinically noted complications and recurrences. RESULTS: There were no major complications. Minor complications included one postoperative wound infection and one transient spinal accessory nerve paresis. There were no recurrences. CONCLUSIONS: Functional neck dissection is a safe and effective procedure for surgical management of recurrent cervical branchial remnants.

Adolescent

Modified radical neck dissection. Terminology, technique, and indications.

The terminology relating to the various modifications of radical neck dissection is loose and confusing. A simple system of nomenclature has been suggested which allows specification of the node levels dissected and the structures preserved. A technique of modified neck dissection, which excludes dissection of the posterior triangle and spares the sternocleidomastoid muscle and spinal accessory nerve, has been described. We believe this operation is appropriate when local disease is advanced and clinically uninvolved neck nodes are likely to harbor occult metastatic disease, when resection of the primary tumor is through the neck, or when clinical disease in the neck is minimal. Patients with multiple palpable nodes, patients with nodes larger than 3 cm in diameter, patients with disease in the posterior triangle, and patients in whom radiotherapy to the neck has failed may be better served by radical neck dissection.

Head and Neck Neoplasms

Recurrence of carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx and maxillary sinus after radical neck dissection.

Cervical recurrence was studied in 63 patients who had undergone radical neck dissection for the treatment of carcinoma of the oral cavity, oropharynx and maxillary sinus. Over the whole series, recurrence occurred in 17 patients (27%). The rate of recurrence did not decrease in patients who remained free of carcinoma at the primary site, but was significantly lower in patients in whom elective neck dissection was performed than in those who were treated by therapeutic or secondary neck dissection. With the exception of two patients, cervical recurrence was associated with the presence of metastatic lymph nodes. Although the rate of recurrence was not affected by the number of metastatic lymph nodes, it was very high (80%) in patients having metastatic lymph nodes with histological evidence of extra-nodal spread. The results indicate that elective treatment by irradiation or surgery may be needed to reduce cervical recurrence because of a high tendency of carcinoma of the oral cavity and adjacent regions to metastasize.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell

Neck dissection with and without radiotherapy: prognostic factors, patterns of recurrence, and survival.

A group of 179 patients who had 205 neck dissections between 1979 and 1984 has been reviewed to assess the influence of adjuvant radiotherapy on survival. Lymph nodes were histologically involved in 91 of 107 radical neck dissections (85 percent) and 55 of 98 modified neck dissections (56 percent). Eighty-two patients received adjuvant radiotherapy of 5,000 rads or more. Patients with involved nodes had significantly lower survival rates than those with uninvolved nodes. Among patients with involved nodes, survival was significantly lower when two or more nodes were involved, when there was nodal involvement at multiple levels, or when extracapsular spread was present. Adjuvant radiotherapy was associated with a reduced recurrence rate in the ipsilateral neck but the incidence of distant metastases was higher. When patients with involved nodes were subgrouped according to prognostic factors, the survival of irradiated patients was improved only in the highest risk group, but this was not statistically significant. When radiotherapy is added to neck dissection for treatment of cervical metastases it can be expected to reduced ipsilateral neck recurrence and prevent relapse in the contralateral neck. Improved survival may depend on an ability to detect and treat occult distant metastases.

Adult

Radical neck dissection: is it enough?

This series of 307 patients who underwent radical neck dissection showed an overall recurrence rate of 19 percent. Clinical staging of disease was an accurate predictor of both recurrence and survival. Extranodal disease dramatically increased recurrence and decreased survival. Although our recurrence rate after radical neck dissection was lower than that previously reported for surgery alone, it was still significantly higher than that after adjuvant radiotherapy. We conclude that histologically proved neck disease should be treated by radical neck dissection, followed by adjuvant radiotherapy to decrease recurrence and, it is hoped, improve survival.

Aged

Modified radical neck dissection for metastatic carcinoma of the thyroid. A reappraisal.

From January 1958 through December 1983, 56 modified radical neck dissections were performed on 47 patients with metastases to the cervical nodes from differentiated carcinomas of the thyroid. In nine patients, a second modified radical neck dissection was performed either simultaneously or at a later date. Lymph node clearance was performed on all but one surgical specimen. The number of nodes in each specimen ranged from 10 to 96, and the number of involved nodes ranged from 1 to 20. Thirty-eight of the 56 neck specimens contained four or more positive nodes. Seventeen patients were followed for 10 to 26 years, 18 patients for 5 to 9 years, and 5 patients for less than 5 years. Seven other patients died, three from other causes and four from lung metastases. There were no recurrences in the neck sides that would have been cleared if standard radical neck dissection had been performed. This reappraisal with long-term follow-up supports our initial impression that a modified radical neck dissection sparing the spinal accessory nerve, the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the internal jugular vein, or any combination thereof is an effective procedure for differentiated cancer of the thyroid, with preservation of good shoulder function and improvement in the cosmetic appearance of the neck.

Adenocarcinoma

Modified neck dissection in treatment of thyroid cancer: a safe procedure.

Differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid metastasizes early and frequently to cervical lymph nodes. Radical neck dissection performed electively or therapeutically results in high cure rates. Modified neck dissection consisting of a single transverse incision, resection of the jugular chain of nodes and those in the posterior triangle of the neck with preservation of the sternomastoid muscle, the spinal accessory nerve and the submandibular salivary gland provides a cosmetic, functional result with minimal morbidity. In a series of 313 neck dissections for thyroid carcinoma, only three patients with papillary or follicular carcinoma, which was resectable, treated by thyroidectomy and modified neck dissection died of disease.

Adolescent

Functional evaluation of the spinal accessory nerve after neck dissection.

The pain and dysfunction associated with a loss of innervation by the spinal accessory nerve has motivated surgeons to modify the classic radical neck dissection. A prospective study of 109 patients who underwent either a radical neck dissection or a modification of it with preservation of the spinal accessory nerve revealed that those patients in whom the nerve, muscle, and vein were preserved had less dysfunction (30 percent) than those with nerve preservation only (50 percent) or classic radical neck dissection (60 percent). In addition, even when the functional disability was the same, there was less associated pain with nerve-sparing procedures. Furthermore, a large group of patients (40 percent) who underwent classic radical neck dissection had minimal disability. Given these results, a prospective study of recurrence data in these patients is indicated.

Accessory Nerve

Pathological findings in clinically false-negative and false-positive neck dissections for oral carcinoma.

A series of 86 patients presenting with oral cancer underwent neck dissection (114 sides of neck), after preoperative staging by palpation under general anaesthesia and CT imaging. Detailed histopathological assessment of the surgical neck dissection specimens showed the incidence of clinically false-negative and false-positive assessments was 27% and 40%, respectively. Extranodal spread of metastatic carcinoma was present in 16% of clinically negative necks. The pathological findings provided plausible explanations for the clinical misdiagnosis in all 19 of the false-positive necks and in 13 of the 18 false-negative necks, where micrometastases or metastasis to nodes measuring less than 1.7 cm accounted for five and seven misdiagnosed cases, respectively. We conclude that the most stringent clinical protocols, even when supplemented by CT scanning, cannot be expected to achieve 100% accuracy. Detailed histopathological assessment provides the most reliable, currently available method of diagnosing cervical metastatic disease.

Adult

Indications for bilateral neck dissection in well-differentiated carcinoma of the thyroid.

This paper analyses the results of sixty-eight patients with thyroid carcinoma in whom bilateral modified radical neck dissection was performed, and discusses the indications for bilateral modified radical neck dissection. High frequencies of bilateral jugular lymph node metastases were found in eleven patients with obviously widespread involvement of both thyroid lobes, 13 with cancer mainly located in the isthmus, 2 with clinically detectable bilateral or contralateral jugular chain lymph node metastases, and 10 with recurrent thyroid cancer. Bilateral modified radical neck dissection, therefore appears to be indicated for those conditions. On the other hand, lymph node metastases in the contralateral neck were histologically confirmed in 6 out of 27 patients (22 per cent), in whom papillary carcinoma was clinically confined to one lobe, and where there were no obviously enlarged lymph nodes in the contralateral neck. In those patients, the histological confirmation of the contralateral thyroid lobe involvements, and of the contralateral paratracheal lymph node metastasis, appears to be a valid indication for elective contralateral modified radical neck dissection.

Adenocarcinoma

Shoulder pain and function after neck dissection with or without preservation of the spinal accessory nerve.

To compare the difference in the degree of pain and functional disability of the shoulder in patients who underwent neck dissection for the treatment of head and neck cancer, 23 patients with and 12 patients without spinal accessory nerve preservation were evaluated with a questionnaire and a physical examination. In addition, to determine what effect radiation treatment has on pain and shoulder disability, eight patients who had whole neck radiation but no neck dissection were similarly evaluated. The results of this study show that, on the average, neck dissection patients with their spinal accessory nerve preserved have less pain in their shoulders, less functional disability, and stronger results on their physical examination than did those with their spinal accessory nerve sacrificed. It was also found that the patients who received whole neck radiation treatment without neck dissection had little pain, infrequent and insignificant functional disability, and normal strength on physical examination.

Accessory Nerve

[Preserving the accessory nerve in neck dissection].

A total of 104 patients who had undergone neck dissection were examined with respect to disturbance of shoulder function on the operated side. The accessory nerve had been severed in half the patients and preserved in the other half. A dynamo-meter was used to measure the force a patient standing upright could exert in pulling upward with his arm outstretched. The relative loss of strength after neck dissection was determined by relating the difference between the two sides to the strength of the healthy shoulder. On average, the loss of strength in the operated shoulder was significantly less after preservation of the accessory nerve than after its severance. An additional influence due to tumour stage or postoperative irradiation was not found. The functional loss determined by the difference quotient correlated well with the patients' subjective account of their functional impairment. Preservation of the eleventh cranial nerve is discussed with respect to the question of increased risk of lymph node recurrence.

Accessory Nerve

Investigations into shoulder function after radical neck dissection.

In order to determine shoulder function after radical neck dissection, and to evaluate the outcome of postoperative physical treatment, 43 patients were investigated 10 days up to 1 month after this procedure. Shoulder function was judged by means of (a) clinical investigation of the shoulder girdle and by (b) electromyographic testing of the trapezius muscle. Our results demonstrated a correlation between the extent of atrophy and clinical parameters such as abduction and lateral displacement of the scapula. Electromyography revealed damage present mainly in the descending part of the trapezius, while in the majority of patients the ascending part was only slightly damaged or normal. Electromyography proved a valuable tool for the determination of the clinical state after neck dissection. There was also evidence supporting the efficacy of physical therapy in case of irreversible shoulder disability.

Adult