TriangleFOR PATIENTS · SOURCE READING
Surgery
Source: Metastatic Squamous Neck Cancer with Occult Primary Treatment (PDQ®)–Patient Version, National Cancer Institute.
Source updated: March 14, 2025 · Captured 2026-09-09.
Selected source text with whitespace normalised. This Triangle page is not an NCI PDQ summary. Independent clinical review is pending.
Context: Treatment Option Overview / The following types of treatment are used:
Surgery may include neck dissection. There are different types of neck dissection, based on the amount of tissue that is removed.
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Radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove tissues in one or both sides of the neck between the jawbone and the collarbone, including:The patient may need physical therapy of the throat, neck, shoulder, and/or arm after radical neck dissection. Radical neck dissection may be used when cancer has spread widely in the neck.
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Radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove tissues in one or both sides of the neck between the jawbone and the collarbone, including:The patient may need physical therapy of the throat, neck, shoulder, and/or arm after radical neck dissection. Radical neck dissection may be used when cancer has spread widely in the neck.
All lymph nodes.
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Radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove tissues in one or both sides of the neck between the jawbone and the collarbone, including:The patient may need physical therapy of the throat, neck, shoulder, and/or arm after radical neck dissection. Radical neck dissection may be used when cancer has spread widely in the neck.
The jugular vein.
Source links and citations
Radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove tissues in one or both sides of the neck between the jawbone and the collarbone, including:The patient may need physical therapy of the throat, neck, shoulder, and/or arm after radical neck dissection. Radical neck dissection may be used when cancer has spread widely in the neck.
Muscles and nerves that are used for face, neck, and shoulder movement, speech, and swallowing.
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Modified radical neck dissection: Surgery to remove all the lymph nodes in one or both sides of the neck without removing the neck muscles. The nerves and/or the jugular vein may be removed.
Partial neck dissection: Surgery to remove some of the lymph nodes in the neck. This is also called selective neck dissection.
After the doctor removes all the cancer that can be seen at the time of surgery, some patients may be given radiation therapy after surgery to kill any cancer cells that are left. Treatment given after surgery, to lower the risk that the cancer will come back, is called adjuvant therapy.
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Preserved source evidence · Independent clinical review pending · Not medical advice