Neck Dissection

Neck dissection is an operation to remove lymph nodes from one or both sides of the neck. It is done when a cancer of the mouth, throat, voice box, thyroid, salivary gland or skin has spread to these nodes or is likely to.

It removes involved nodes and tells the team precisely how far the disease has spread, which guides further treatment. It is one part of a cancer plan and is rarely the only treatment needed.

What Neck Dissection involves

Under general anaesthetic the surgeon makes a long incision in a skin crease of the neck and lifts the skin and thin platysma muscle. The fatty tissue containing the lymph nodes is removed in defined levels, numbered I to V from under the jaw to behind the collarbone. It is peeled away from the carotid artery, the jugular vein, and the nerves to the tongue, lower lip, diaphragm and shoulder, which are kept whenever the cancer allows. Often the primary tumour is removed during the same operation. One or two suction drains are placed and the skin is closed.

Who is a good candidate for Neck Dissection?

The decision is made by a head and neck cancer team after imaging and biopsy.

• Proven spread of head and neck cancer to neck nodes
• Mouth or throat cancers with a meaningful chance of hidden spread, as a preventive dissection
• Thyroid cancer with involved nodes on ultrasound
• Skin cancer or melanoma of the head and neck with node involvement
• Nodes that remain after radiotherapy

It is usually not the right choice if:

• Cancer that has spread widely beyond the neck, where surgery will not change the outcome
• Nodes encasing the carotid artery or fixed to the spine
• People too unwell for a long anaesthetic
• Enlarged nodes without a diagnosis, which need biopsy first

الخيارات التقنية

• Selective neck dissection: Removes only the node levels at risk for that tumour site. The most common form today, with fewer side effects.
• Modified radical neck dissection: Removes levels I to V while sparing the shoulder nerve, jugular vein or neck muscle where possible.
• Radical neck dissection: Removes all levels plus those three structures. Now reserved for extensive disease.
• Central compartment dissection: Removes nodes around the windpipe in thyroid cancer.
• Sentinel node biopsy: In selected early mouth cancers and melanoma, only the first draining node is sampled to decide whether a full dissection is needed.

ماذا يحدث خلال علاجك

The neck dissection itself takes 2 to 4 hours per side; combined operations are longer. You wake with drains in the neck and a numb, tight feeling. Pain is often less than people expect because skin nerves are cut. Hospital stay is 3 to 7 days, until the drains come out.

الإعداد لرحلتك

Plan for 2 to 3 weeks in Istanbul. Your surgeon reviews photographs and your medical history before you book, and you meet in person the day before surgery for examination, marking and consent with a professional interpreter.

• Stop smoking and nicotine at least four weeks before and after surgery; it is the single biggest avoidable cause of wound problems
• Tell the team about every medicine and supplement you take; blood thinners, some herbal products and hormone treatment may need to be paused on your doctor's advice
• Arrange for someone to travel with you or to be reachable, and keep the first days at home free of work and lifting
• Book a changeable return flight; your surgeon confirms when you are fit to fly

التعافي والنتائج

Neck stiffness and numbness of the ear lobe and neck skin are expected; sensation improves partly over months. Shoulder physiotherapy starts early, because the nerve that lifts the shoulder is handled even when preserved and may be weak for months. Most people need 3 to 6 weeks off work. The pathology report at 1 to 2 weeks decides whether radiotherapy, with or without chemotherapy, is advised; this typically begins about 6 weeks after surgery.

• Back to everyday activity: 3 to 6 weeks
• When results show: Pathology in 1 to 2 weeks
• How long they last: Part of an ongoing cancer plan with regular checks

سياسة السلامة والمخاطر والتنقيح

The neck carries many nerves and vessels in a small space, and earlier radiotherapy raises the risks.

• Shoulder weakness, pain and difficulty raising the arm
• Lasting numbness of the neck skin and ear
• Weakness of the corner of the lower lip
• Chyle leak, a milky lymph leak, mainly on the left side
• Bleeding or haematoma needing urgent return to theatre
• Wound infection or poor healing after radiotherapy
• Swelling of the face or neck, greater when both sides are operated
• Rarely, tongue weakness or a raised diaphragm from nerve injury

Every written proposal arranged through Clinic-Y states what the clinic covers if a correction is needed. Ask for it before you book, not after.

Cost of Neck Dissection in Türkiye

Clinic-Y does not publish a single price for Neck Dissection, because the honest figure depends on your case. What moves it:

• One side or both, and the extent of dissection
• Whether the primary tumour and reconstruction are done together
• Length of hospital and intensive care stay
• PET-CT, MRI and biopsy work-up
• Pathology and tumour board review

Send your photographs or reports and you receive written, all-inclusive proposals from suitable teams, side by side. Reviewing your case is free.

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