Role of level IV neck dissection in early tongue cancer

Abstract

To identify the rate of positive node / skip metastasis at level IV neck node in early carcinoma tongue after elective neck dissection. The records of fifty two patients were retrospectively reviewed from November 2016 to May 2018who underwent wide excision of tongue lesion with elective neck dissection for early tongue cancer. All the metastatic nodes were at the level from I-III. None of the patient had level IV/V neck node metastasis. Supra omohyoid neck dissection is adequate procedure for node negative early oral tongue cancer patients. The inclusion of level IV dissection should be intraoperative decision and should not be aggressive if no disease was found.