Evaluation of level I neck nodes involvement in advanced malignancy of the larynx and the hypopharynx

Abstract

Abstract Background Advanced cancer larynx and hypopharynx has high potentiality to nodal spread. Level of lymph node metastasis highly depends on site and stage of laryngopharyngeal carcinoma. Level I cervical lymph node dissection was performed to advanced laryngeal and/or hypopharyngeal tumors in this study. Results According to our statistical analysis and data, none of those thirty patients had pathologically positive level I neck lymph nodes after dissection with only one patient suffered from marginal mandibular nerve affection and three patients complained of dry mouth post-operatively, confirming the result that there is no need for prophylactic level I neck dissection in the absence of clinically palpable suspicious lymph nodes. Conclusion Although it carries relative low morbidity, there is no need for prophylactic level I neck dissection in advanced laryngeal and/or hypopharyngeal cancer patients without clinically detectable nodal metastases “N0 neck.”