The Impact of Neck Dissection on Health-Related Quality of Life

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Abstract
Shoulder morbidity associated with neck dissection is well recognized and is an important aspect of health-related quality of life for patients undergoing surgical treatment for head and neck cancer.1 It has been demonstrated that more extensive surgery in the neck is associated with more postoperative shoulder morbidity.2 After a radical neck dissection, shoulder dysfunction has been shown to be the most important source of long-term morbidity for the patient.3 The symptoms consisted of shoulder pain, limitation of shoulder abduction, and winging of the scapula,4 and these findings have led to a current trend toward more conservative management of the neck.5