PROGNOSTIC-SIGNIFICANCE OF POSTOPERATIVE WOUND-INFECTION ON HEAD AND NECK-CANCER

The prognostic significance of wound infections-after surgery for squa mous cell carcinoma of the head and neck is controversial. We retrospe ctively studied the relationship between wound infection, tumor recurr ence, and survival rates in 158 patients operated on for supraglottic cancer. All patients had 3-year follow-up. Wound infection developed i n 14 patients (8.8%). The overall recurrence rate was 29.7%. For those in whom a wound infection developed the recurrence rate was 57%, comp ared with 27% for those in whom no such infection developed (p = 0.041 ). Disease-free survival was also adversely affected in the group of p atients with infections, although because of the limited number of pat ients the differences did not reach statistical significance. We concl ude that postoperative wound infection may have an adverse effect on p rognosis in squamous cell carcinomas of the head and neck.