Our clinical services | Head and neck cancer
Head and neck cancer
Our oral and maxillofacial surgeons play a lead role in treating patients with head and neck cancer. Head and neck cancer is an all embracing term which covers oro facial cancers such as tongue cancer and salivary cancer. It also covers cancers of the voice box and throat and for these types of cancers, our max fax surgeons will work with our ear nose and throat surgeons bringing together their expertise to provide the best possible surgical solution for patients referred to our hospital.
Our teams benefit from specialist oral pathology diagnostic services, with expertise in diagnosing unusual diseases of the head and neck area. If a tumour has been identified, and the treatment plan involves surgery, our maxillofacial surgeons will carry out essential surgery to remove malignant tumours, as well as reconstruct any defects using skin grafts. If the bones of the face and jaw have been damaged by cancer, the surgeons will reconstruct the bone area using replacement tissue from other sites in the body (the chest wall, hip or leg) to replace the removed diseased skin and bone using free flap microsurgical techniques. This involves using a microscope to plumb in blood vessels for bone grafts and jaw reconstruction.
