[Surgery for tumors of the root of neck].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of the surgery for tumors located in the root of the neck. METHODS: A retrospective study was made on 15 cases with tumors in the root of the neck. Seven patients had benign and 8 had malignant tumors. In the malignant group, 4 staged III and 4 staged IV. Patients with benign disease were followed up for more than 3 years, and patients with malignant tumors were followed up from 1 to 5 years (median 2 years). RESULTS: Resection via "L" incision in the root of the neck was employed in 13 cases (7 benign and 6 malignant, clavicle splitting in 1 case) and sternotomy in 2 cases. Only one case in the benign group had complication (chylous leakage). In contrast, 7 complications (2 subclavian vein tearing, 2 brachial plexus injury, 2 chylous leakage and 1 pneumothorax) occurred in 6 patients in the malignant group. The incidence of complication was significantly different between the two groups (P < 0.05). We observed no recurrence in both groups during the period of follow-up. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that surgery of tumors located in the root of the neck is effective, although the incidence of surgical complication is high for the malignant ones.