Abstract
In recent years, a polyglycolic acid (PGA) sheet and fibrin glue have been used in surgical intervention for oral and pharyngeal cancer. We retrospectively examined the records of patients treated for oral and oropharyngeal cancer in our department and analyzed the effectiveness of this treatment. From December 2012 to July 2014, we treated 45 cases of oral and oropharyngeal cancer, including 42 cases of oral cancer and three cases of oropharyngeal cancer. The average number of days to detachment of the PGA sheet was 8.0 days postoperatively for tongue cancer and 13.3 days postoperatively for other oral and oropharyngeal cancers. The PGA sheet came unstuck earlier in the patients with tongue cancer than those with other oral and oropharyngeal cancers, although the differences were not significant (p=0.0953). Postoperative bleeding was observed in nine of the 26 tongue cancer patients (34.6%) and in one of the 19 other oral and oropharyngeal cancer patients (5.3%). Significant differences were observed in the frequency of postoperative bleeding between operation sites (p=0.0497). There was no significant correlation between the fasting period and attachment days of the PGA sheet. As a result, the fasting period after surgery was not related to the early detachment of the PGA sheet, and oral nutrition can be started in the early stages postoperatively.
