1994 Volume 1994 Issue Supplement69 Pages 83-90
General complications are sometimes associated with the treatment of head and neck tumor. We review a case of fatal tongue cancer with multiple complications.
A 57-year-old female complained of tongue swelling. Sh e had a 5 × 3 × 2 cm well differentiated squamous cell carcinoma (T3N2M0) on the right side of the tongue. Complications before treatment included diabetes mellitus, a pre-cirrhotic liver and renal dysfunction. We performed surgery after chemotherapy by intraarterial injection.
Following surgery, she developed fatal complications; severe hypoalb u minemia, lung edema, severe Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, septic shock, disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) and peritonitis cartinomatosa. Twenty-four days after surgery, she died of multiple organ failure. Paying attention to pre-, intra-, and postoperative general conditions while treating head and neck malignancies is important.
