Evaluation of Outcomes of Single Extended Cervical Incision for Neck Dissection in Oral Cancer Patients at Tertiary Care Army Hospital in India-a Case Series

Evaluation of Outcomes of Single Extended Cervical Incision for Neck Dissection in Oral Cancer Patients at Tertiary Care Army Hospital in India-a Case Series | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Case Report Evaluation of Outcomes of Single Extended Cervical Incision for Neck Dissection in Oral Cancer Patients at Tertiary Care Army Hospital in India-a Case Series Maj (Dr.) Kartik Bhatt This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074527/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background The neck dissection has gone through various modifications since its inception and is approached through many varieties of incision and their modifications.This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of modified apron incision both in terms of oncological clearence and cosmetic outcome in patients of head and neck cancer in a tertiary care army hospital. Method This Prospective Observational study was conducted in the Department of Surgical Oncology, R & R Hospital, New Delhi from February 2023 to December 2024. 50 patients were evaluated for the perioperative assessment of accessibility of Level I-V lymph nodes using Likert scale, lymph node yield based on HPE report, evaluation of morbidity in terms of wound infection using ASEPSIS SCORE, presence or absence of Seroma and Flap dehiscence or necrosis using a set devised proforma and scar contracture and cosmesis by using Scar Cosmesis Assessment and Rating score (SCAR). Results The mean age (years) of the patients was 58.3 ± 11.2 (Range: 34–83). The most common site of lesion in our study were the left and right buccal mucosa, along with the left lower alveolus, each contributing 20% of the cases. The majority of patients (64%) are in the more advanced stages (T3/T4), while a smaller proportion (36%) are in the earlier stages (T1/T2). MRND III was the most frequently performed type of neck dissection, with 62% of patients undergoing this procedure, followed by MRND II (36%) and MRND I (2%). The mean lymph node yield was 30.7 with a standard deviation (SD) of 10.8. There were no reported cases of flap necrosis in this patient sample. Out of 50 patients, the majority (88%) did not develop seroma, while 12% did. The incidence of flap dehiscence is very low, with only 2% of the patients affected. Conclusion In Conclusion, our study demonstrated that use of modified apron incision for comprehensive neck dissection in patients of Head and neck cancer has a good oncological lymph node yield and a better cosmesis in postoperative period. Surgery Full Text Additional Declarations The authors declare no competing interests. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-9074527","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Case Report","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":603222219,"identity":"df59d58a-d1cf-49d4-a68a-c9ee03a9b242","order_by":0,"name":"Maj (Dr.) Kartik Bhatt","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABE0lEQVRIie3PMUvDQBTA8SuBmwJdLwSSTyBcKBQH6cdwfkcht7QiuDje5lJwLQTMV2gQnE8CmSquBTtcEOIat2x6l4w2sW4F7z8kEN4v7w4hm+0EI+YBUoJ+OQqai8B8kGqYjERLsINpuYonLYHfCOoI8hTOmWj3DhDv7uVDqe3+apzeSwquw9PLvNR/mAVn4jDxXR4J2FU3pHCQgnO8zN5iqsl8MpWHSYBifZdan0cTvcVdZgkYItlTHxlXHUk1IYAJjxJeDxKfmC27nG06QiH0F8NbvHU1WsO2Ylkxn1K2gmjjL64l0P67kNcYfTbFnj3kz+9l03yFYcIf6/p2FvSRn9F2kh47bgrFX6ZtNpvtP/QNNWpuMxcGtvEAAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"AHRR","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Maj","middleName":"(Dr.) Kartik","lastName":"Bhatt","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-03-09 15:00:28","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":{"humanSubjects":true,"vertebrateSubjects":false,"conflictsOfInterestStatement":false,"humanSubjectEthicalGuidelines":true,"humanSubjectConsent":true,"humanSubjectClinicalTrial":true,"humanSubjectCaseReport":true,"vertebrateSubjectEthicalGuidelines":false},"doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074527/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074527/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":104405195,"identity":"ac4d041a-d0b9-4112-a671-b37d09b0f7de","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-03-11 12:22:05","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":702962,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"MajKartikpaper.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-9074527/v1_covered_87e8a663-c074-4041-b8a1-d9d18744df7e.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"The authors declare no competing interests.","formattedTitle":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEvaluation of Outcomes of Single Extended Cervical Incision for Neck Dissection in Oral Cancer Patients at Tertiary Care Army Hospital in India-a Case Series\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"Army Hospital Research and Referral","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074527/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074527/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003ch2\u003eBackground\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe neck dissection has gone through various modifications since its inception and is approached through many varieties of incision and their modifications.This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of modified apron incision both in terms of oncological clearence and cosmetic outcome in patients of head and neck cancer in a tertiary care army hospital.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eMethod\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis Prospective Observational study was conducted in the Department of Surgical Oncology, R \u0026amp; R Hospital, New Delhi from February 2023 to December 2024. 50 patients were evaluated for the perioperative assessment of accessibility of Level I-V lymph nodes using Likert scale, lymph node yield based on HPE report, evaluation of morbidity in terms of wound infection using ASEPSIS SCORE, presence or absence of Seroma and Flap dehiscence or necrosis using a set devised proforma and scar contracture and cosmesis by using Scar Cosmesis Assessment and Rating score (SCAR).\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eResults\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mean age (years) of the patients was 58.3\u0026thinsp;\u0026plusmn;\u0026thinsp;11.2 (Range: 34\u0026ndash;83). The most common site of lesion in our study were the left and right buccal mucosa, along with the left lower alveolus, each contributing 20% of the cases. The majority of patients (64%) are in the more advanced stages (T3/T4), while a smaller proportion (36%) are in the earlier stages (T1/T2). MRND III was the most frequently performed type of neck dissection, with 62% of patients undergoing this procedure, followed by MRND II (36%) and MRND I (2%). The mean lymph node yield was 30.7 with a standard deviation (SD) of 10.8. There were no reported cases of flap necrosis in this patient sample. Out of 50 patients, the majority (88%) did not develop seroma, while 12% did. The incidence of flap dehiscence is very low, with only 2% of the patients affected.\u003c/p\u003e\u003ch2\u003eConclusion\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn Conclusion, our study demonstrated that use of modified apron incision for comprehensive neck dissection in patients of Head and neck cancer has a good oncological lymph node yield and a better cosmesis in postoperative period.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Evaluation of Outcomes of Single Extended Cervical Incision for Neck Dissection in Oral Cancer Patients at Tertiary Care Army Hospital in India-a Case Series","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2026-03-10 09:04:51","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-9074527/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"1a6355c2-d34a-4b6b-9ce6-403aff4bc639","owner":[],"postedDate":"March 10th, 2026","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[{"id":64232010,"name":"Surgery"}],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-03-10T09:04:51+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2026-03-10 09:04:51","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-9074527","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-9074527","identity":"rs-9074527","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}