Reduction of occult metastatic disease by extension of the supraomohyoid neck dissection to include level IV

Abstract

ESOHND as performed in this study removed occult level IV metastatic regional disease from an extra 10% of patients that, if the patients had undergone SOHND, would have remained undiscovered. No long-term morbidity is associated with this procedure that the authors now recommend as a first-line treatment in all patients with N0 necks.