BACKGROUND: There is a higher risk for malignant tumours in patients who underwent any kind of radiotherapy. MAIN OBSERVATIONS: An 87-year-old patient with an extended squamous cell carcinoma of the neck was referred to our hospital. The large ulcerated tumour showed a deep infiltration of the para-vertebral muscles and the spinal processes C6-C7. The tumour was known since about six years and appeared about 46 years after low-dose radiotherapy of a cervical haemangioma of the neck in 1961. The large dimension of the tumour leaded to a radical surgical removal and a sufficient fast reconstruction strategy. The extended defect was covered by a pedicled lower musculocutaneous trapezius flap. No postoperative complications like partial necrosis, infection or movement disorders of the shoulder or a shoulder drop syndrome were seen. Ten weeks after the operation the patient showed a good functional and aesthetic result with no limitation of arm mobility. Two and a half years after radical intended surgery the patient was still alive and showed no recurrence of the tumour. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion there is a need for a life-time lasting dermatological supervision in patients with a history of radiotherapy in the past, because the handling of patients with such an enlarged tumour is complicated
Keywords : Arm,Carcinoma,complications,Germany,history,Infection,Movement,Movement Disorders,Neck,Necrosis,Observation,Patients,Postoperative Complications,radiotherapy,Recurrence,Risk,Shoulder,surgery,Syndrome,, Huge,Infiltrating,Squamous,Cell,Carcinoma, butrans patch withdrawal
Date of Publication : 2010 Nov 19
Authors : Scheller K;Eckert AW;Scheller C;
Organisation : Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Martin-Luther-University Halle-Wittenberg, Germany
Journal of Publication : J Dermatol Case Rep
Pubmed Link : https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21886742
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