Reconstructive Surgery For Head And Neck Cancer Patients

This prospective, longitudinal study will evaluate patient-reported quality of life and symptomatology immediately prior to and for up to one year following surgical resection and reconstruction head and neck malignancies.Patients with head and neck malignancies that require simultaneous surgical resection and reconstruction of the ablative defect will be eligible to participate.Quality of life and symptom relief will be evaluated by both domain and disease specific questionnaires at four time points: pre-operatively, and 3 months (±1 month), 6 months (±1), and 9 months (-1 and +3) post-operatively. These assessment points represent clinically significant events in patients' post-operative course following head and neck surgery. Studies have shown that quality of life decreases significantly at three months after surgery but then reapproaches baseline levels around one year (1). Pre-operative responses will serve as the baseline for comparison.

Inclusion criteria

• Patients undergoing surgical resection and reconstruction for every stage head and neck malignancies at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
• Patients at least 21 years of age

Exclusion criteria

• Patients who are less than 21 years old
• Patients who do not speak the English language
• Patients who are unable to comprehend the content of the questionnaires due to psychiatric disorders or cognitive impairment
• Patients who cannot complete the pre-operative questionnaires during consent