Clinical Study of Head and Neck Tumor Patients Who Underwent Carotid Artery Reconstruction

Abstract

In this report, we reviewed the clinical records of 5 cases (4 males and 1 female) of head and neck tumor (3 hypopharyngeal cancer and 1 papillary thyroid cancer, 1 malignant peripheral nerve sheath tumor) who underwent reconstruction of the carotid artery at Kurume University Hospital between 2000 and 2012. The ages of the patients ranged from 38 to 75 years. The 5-year survival rate of the 5 cases averaged to 50%. Aspiration and recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy occurred postoperatively in 4 cases and Horner sign occurred postoperatively in 3 cases. Cerebral infarction occurred postoperatively in 1 case. As prognoses, 4 cases were alive and 1 case died by neck recurrence. Although the prognosis of head and neck tumor patients with carotid artery reconstruction is generally poor, we intend to address such cases proactively in a quest to provide better local control.