Salvage surgery for locoregional recurrences of advanced pharyngolaryngeal squamous cell carcinoma after organ preservation failure

Organ preservation treatment for advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is associated with poor outcomes due to locoregional recurrences. Salvage surgery is the main therapeutic option for some of these patients. The aim of this study was to analyse the results of salvage surgery for advanced pharyngolaryngeal squamous cell carcinoma previously treated with radiochemotherapy. We performed a retrospective study on 38 patients (36 men, 2 women). The median age at diagnosis was 60 years with a mean follow-up period of 49.8 months. Recurrences were diagnosed at a mean of 395 days after finalising organ preservation treatment. Patients went under different salvage surgeries, including 22 total laryngectomies, 6 partial laryngectomies (3 transoral laser surgeries and 3 opened surgeries), 8 functional neck dissections and 2 tongue base surgeries. Nineteen patients had no postoperative complications after a mean hospital stay of 2 weeks. However, 5 patients died of significant recurrent bleedings. There were 4 salivary fistulas that responded to conservative management, while 7 patients had important pharyngostomas that required reconstruction with either regional or free flaps. The mean hospital stay was of 61.60 days for all patients. Five-year overall survival from diagnosis, overall survival after salvage surgery and survival after salvage surgery were 44.20, 37.90 and 45.70%, respectively. In summary, we conclude that salvage surgery is an optimal treatment for pharyngolaryngeal and regional recurrences and provides improvement in locoregional control and survival, despite the severe complications.