Conservation Surgery for Hypopharyngeal Cancer

Hypopharyngeal carcinoma is a very aggressive cancer that is generally diagnosed at advanced stages and consequently has a poor prognosis and low survival rate. The treatment of these tumors is designed to cure the patient with the cancer and to preserve or restore physiologic function of the laryngo-pharyngeal complex as well. However, the need for extensive ablative surgery often coupled with radiation therapy renders many patients incapable of performing the basic human functions of swallowing and speech. Loss of such integral functions has a dramatically negative influence on the patients’ quality of life, which has already been threatened by the aggressive nature of this disease. Therefore, it is imperative to use a reliable surgical strategy with low morbidity that will allow expedient restoration of speech and swallowing. Consequently, conservation surgery for hypopharynx carcinoma offers a wider resection with promising functional results in hypopharyngeal cancer patients. Recently several procedures were introduced for this purpose and we review the introduction and indications of those conservation methods in hypopharyngeal cancer surgery.