You searched for "head and neck"
Perioperative management of the head and neck cancer patient
The perioperative care of patients with head and neck cancer is complex and requires significant preoperative planning and patient education. The issues include analgesia, antibiotics, stoma and wound care, general and chest physiotherapy, thromboprophylaxis and nutrition. This article provides a...
Red flag head and neck cancer symptoms
This was a prospective study of 1589 patients that were enrolled in the Scottish Audit of Head and Neck Cancer between 1999 and 2001. It recorded their presenting symptoms and assessed their long-term survival with respect to symptoms and subsites...
Advances in surgical innovation for head and neck cancer
This article reviews current advances in surgical treatment of head and neck cancers such as sentinel node biopsy, stereolithic modelling, transoral robotic surgery and intra-operative imaging of tumour margins. Sentinel node biopsy has been found to be especially useful for...
What causes delays in head and neck cancer treatment?
This article identifies which factors are responsible for delays in cancer management by a retrospective case-control series study, statistically comparing two groups, each of 50 patients, one receiving timely treatment and the other breaching set targets. It was observed that...
Head and neck high dependency unit - an alternative to ITU?
Close observation of the airway is a primary requirement for patients undergoing major head and neck surgery. It is also necessary for patients with upper airway infection and trauma. Wound care, drains, feeding and analgesia also require specific attention. Whilst...
Radiation-induced dysphagia in head and neck cancer
This is a helpful reference paper that provides an overview of the biomolecular effects of radiation on the tissues of the upper aero-digestive tract. The authors explain that radiation injuries occur in a repetitive and accruing manner over the duration...Patient initiated follow-up in head and neck cancer
Is it time for a change in the way we follow up head and neck cancer patients after treatment? Paul Nankivell and Hisham Mehanna explain the rationale for the PETNECK2 trial. After completion of curative intent treatment, clinical follow-up currently...
Carotid artery involvement with head and neck metastases
This is a retrospective review of 27 patients radiologically diagnosed as having metastases involving the common or internal carotid arteries. All patients underwent a salvage neck dissection with surgical carotid peeling. Thirteen of the 27 achieved loco-regional control, five developed...
Transnasal oesophagoscopy in head and neck cancer: an update
The role of transnasal oesophagoscopy (TNE) in the management of head and neck cancer patients is evolving. Until 1990, oesphagoscopy required specialist endoscopists, general anaesthesia or sedation. This review succinctly summarises updates in the evidence for TNE in: i) Screening...
Chemo-radiation in elderly patients with head and neck cancers
Chemo-radiotherapy is the standard of care for organ preservation in stage three and four oropharyngeal cancer, prospective data on patients over 65 has not been available as they are usually excluded from randomised trials. This paper reviews the experience of...
Prophylactic swallowing exercises in head and neck cancer
Clinicians working in head and neck cancer will be familiar with the increased interest in prophylactic swallowing exercises to reduce the devastating impact of dysphagia experienced by patients undergoing radiation or chemo-radiation therapy. This study from Denmark is one of...
