Surgery of patients with oral cancer who refuse blood transfusion (Jehovah's Witness)

Abstract

Jehovah's Witnesses will refuse a blood transfusion for religious reasons, so there are some problems when an extended surgery is indicated. We present two Jehovah's Witness patients with oral cancer who underwent surgery.
Case 1 was a 64-year-old female with squamous cell carcinoma of the mandibular gingiva (T2N2bM0) .She underwent neck dissection and marginal mandibulectomy. Blood loss was 300 g. Case 2 was a 50-year-old male with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue (T2N2bM0) . He underwent neck dissection, hemiglossectomy, and reconstruction with major pectoral musculocutaneous flap. Blood loss was 445 g. We exchanged some documents that certified our exemption from obligations with the patients before the operations. Low blood pressure anesthesia was done in each operation. Some other problems on treating Jehovah's Witness patients were discussed.