Background: Regional recurrence of glottic squamous cell carcinoma was evaluated in patients with a clinically N0 neck who underwent selective upper-node dissection (SUND) or selective upper-node inspection (SUNI; surgical visualization and palpation of jugular lymph nodes at levels II and III) during (salvage) laryngectomy.
Methods: In 152 patients, 291 clinically N0 (139 bilateral and 13 contralateral) necks were evaluated for occult neck metastases by SUNI or SUND during (salvage) laryngectomy.
Results: Occult neck metastases were identified with SUNI or SUND in 7% of the necks (21 of 291). In 4% (n = 11) of the remaining 270 necks, regional recurrence was detected during follow-up evaluation. Thus, in these 8 patients, SUNI or SUND seemed to have failed.
Conclusions: SUND or SUNI of levels II and III during (salvage) laryngectomy identified the vast majority of patients who needed extensive neck treatment. In the N0 necks, these techniques led to less morbidity than elective neck dissection.