最近的回顾性分析表明“头颈部因癌症等接受外科手术后，患者在康复过程中面临的最主要并发症为吞咽障碍、抑郁和疼痛等，这些并发症的发生与手术过程中切除病变组织而损伤神经、牙齿和肌肉等有关。因此，拟接受头颈部手术的患者对此应该拥有充分的心理准备，手术医生在术前亦应明明白白地告诉患者术后可能出现的并发症等，以真正做到知情同意而有利于患者康复。

Many Head and Neck Cancer Survivors Face Eating Problems

Poor throat function, depression and pain are common, study finds

MONDAY, Jan. 16 (HealthDay News) -- Persistent pain, eating problems and depression are the most common problems experienced by long-term survivors of head and neck cancer, a new study finds.

In the study, published in the Jan. 16 online issue of the journal Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery, researchers looked at 337 people who were diagnosed with head and neck cancer from 1995 to 2004 and survived at least five years.

More than 50 percent of the survivors had problems eating because of poor throat functioning, 28.5 percent had symptoms of depression and more than 17 percent had substantial pain, the researchers found.

However, when the long-term survivors were compared to age-matched people in the general population, their average general health was similar, Dr. Gerry Funk, of the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City, and colleagues explained in a journal news release.

The investigators also found that pain and diet in the first year after cancer treatment were the strongest independent predictors of five-year, health-related quality-of-life outcomes.

Problems with mouth and throat function in head and neck cancer survivors can be due to factors such as neuromuscular changes, anatomic deficits after surgery, pain and dental problems, the researchers noted.

"Early interventions addressing eating issues, swallowing problems and pain management will be a crucial component in improving this patient population's long-term quality of life, especially in those who are functioning poorly one year after diagnosis," the study authors concluded.

SOURCE: JAMA/Archives journals, news release, Jan. 16, 2012