POSTEROLATERAL NECK DISSECTION - TECHNIQUE AND RESULTS

Posterolateral neck dissection, alone or combined with a modified radi cal neck dissection, may be an appropriate method of treating occult a nd clinically manifest nodal metastases of malignant epithelial tumour s of the skin o the posterior scalp. The technique and results are des cribed in 21 patients treated between February 1981 and November 1989. Transformation of nodal status from cN0 to pN+ was seen in five of 13 patients treated electively, who may benefit from such a procedure. D uring a mean follow-up of 47 months the disease was controlled locally in all patients. Three patients suffered regional recurrence of whom only one had a nodal recurrence within the region previously operated on. The results of this limited retrospective study confirm the value of posterolateral neck dissection in posterior scalp lesions.