Neck dissection: Clinicosurgical appraisal of 21 cases in a sub-Saharan African tertiary referral hospital

Background: Neck dissection constitutes an essential part of overall management of cancer of the head-and-neck region. Once the tumor involves neck nodes, survival drops by almost 50%. The aim of this present study is to present our experience in neck dissections. Patients and Methods: This was a retrospective study of neck dissection carried out in the department of dental and maxillofacial surgery of a tertiary referral hospital. Information retrieved includes age, sex, diagnosis, type of primary surgery, type of neck dissection, complications, and prognosis. Data were stored and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics Version 20 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY, USA). Results: A total of 21 neck dissections were carried out during the study period. The patients' age ranged from 23 to 72 years with a mean ± standard deviation of 55.1 ± 11.9. There are 12 (57%) males and 9 (42.9%) females with an M:F ratio of 1.3:1. Squamous cell carcinoma (14 [66.7%]) was the main indication for neck dissection. Modified radical neck dissection (RND) (Type 1) was the commonest type of neck dissection carried out (7 [33.3%]), while 4 (19.0%) cases and 3 (14.3%) cases of modified RND Type II and Type III, respectively, were performed. Three (14.3%) cases of selective neck dissection (SND) (Type III) and one (4.8%) case of SND (Type II) were performed. Extended neck dissections were carried out in three (14.3%) patients. Overall, 11 (52.4%) patients survived, while 7 (33.3%) were lost to follow-up and 3 (14.3%) passed away. Conclusion: Patient selection is essential in neck dissection in the overall management of oncologic head-and-neck diseases.