Selective Neck Dissection in the Treatment of the N+ Neck in Cancers of the Oral Cavity

Pearls and Pitfalls in Head and Neck Surgery Introduction An SND consists of the en bloc removal of the lymph node groups that are most likely to harbor metastases depending upon the location of the primary tumor. The goal of such an operation is to remove the nodes at risk while preserving function and minimizing morbidity. A selective dissection of the nodes of levels I, II, and III/IV (supraomohyoid neck dissection) is currently the preferred operation for the initial management of the neck in patients with COC who have no clinical evidence of LNM, but in whom the risk of subclinical metastases is reasonably high. SNDs are being used with increasing frequency in selected N+ patients, either alone or in combination with PORDT [1–10] . Cernea CR, Dias FL, Fliss D, Lima RA, Myers EN, Wei WI (eds): Pearls and Pitfalls in Head and Neck Surgery. Basel, Karger, 2012, pp 42–43 DOI: 10.1159/000337475