ABSTRACT
Surgical oncologic treatment of head and neck cancer has advanced considerably, but the overall cure rate has not improved proportionally (1). To increase the cure rate, new therapies and techniques have been developed and more emphasis is being placed on the improvement of the overall quality of the treatment of these oncologically challenging patients. Thus, success should be measured not only by disease control, but also by the restoration and maintenance of the patient to as normal as possible conditions. Such improvements in a patient’s quality of life can temporarily offset continued frustrations with controlling head and neck cancer.
