Évidements ganglionnaires cervicaux

One of the most important factors that affect prognosis in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the upper aerodigestive tract is the nodal stage. Tumour dissemination to the lymph nodes of the neck is predictable and sequential. The therapeutic management of these lymph nodes must be adapted to the tumour stage. The “Union Internationale Contre le Cancer” (UICC) and the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) have adopted a common classification for lymph nodes of the neck. Two approaches based on different surgical concepts lead to the description of various neck dissections: the North American approach and the Latin approach. Many classifications are available, more or less complex and exhaustive. The goal of these classifications is to standardize the terminology of various types of neck dissections. The different techniques of neck dissection are described, peculiarly the functional neck dissection and the radical neck dissection ones.