Abstract
A blood transfusion is often an important part of surgical treatment. Recently, the risks associated with transfusion, such as host versus graft reaction or possible infection with unknown pathogens, have received increased attention and, as a result, autologous blood transfusion in now being used more and more frequently. To investigate the possibility of using autologous blood transfusion for patients undergoing surgical treatment for head and neck cancers, the medical records of 65 such patients were examined retrospectively. All patients consisted of those who had undergone either a unilateral or bilateral neck dissection and tumor resection with free flap reconstruction, following preoperative radiation therapy. The peripheral blood sample volumes upon admission, before undergoing preoperative radiation therapy and just before surgery were all recorded. The liquid blood storage decreased from an average of 1, 000ml to 630ml during the period of 30 Gy irradiation. The average surgical blood loss was 550±250 (mean±SD), while the maximum surgical blood requirement was 800ml. Therefore, if more than 600ml of blood can be stored preoperatively, then more than 80% of all patients could have avoided a homologous blood transfusion.
