Sensory changes associated with selective neck dissection.

OBJECTIVE To evaluate sensory changes in the head and neck region associated with selective neck dissection with or without preservation of cervical root branches. DESIGN Retrospective cohort study. SETTING University tertiary referral hospital and a Veterans Affairs hospital. PATIENTS Fifty-seven patients who had undergone 84 neck dissections with or without preservation of the sensory cervical root branches 3 or more months before evaluation. INTERVENTIONS Questionnaire combined with head and neck sensory examination. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Neck and facial sensory function. RESULTS Neck dissections with preservation of the cervical rootlets were most likely to be associated with a small area of anesthesia in the upper neck below the body of the mandible and anterior to the mid-body of the mandible (P=.03). Neck dissections without rootlet-preserving technique increased the area of anesthesia to include all other areas of the neck (P= .02). CONCLUSIONS Preservation of the cervical root branches resulted in a small, limited, and uniform area of the neck rendered permanently anesthetic. Conversely, sacrifice of the nerve branches led to a pattern of anesthesia involving the entire neck.