Abstract:
Background and objective: supramandibular Facial lymph nodes (SFLNs) are one of the unusual sites of lymph nodes metastases. This prospective study investigated the possible involvement of SFLNs in cases of head and neck carcinoma. Patient and methods: It involves 30 neck dissections obtained from 30 patients (22 males and 8 females) with squamous cell carcinoma of the scalp, eyelid, oral cavity, lip, and parotid gland carcinomas, without locoregional recurrence or distant metastases. The tumor site was the scalp (n = 3), eyelid (n = 2), lip (n = 2), parotid (n = 6), tongue (n =5), alveolar margin (n = 5), and buccal mucosa (n = 7). Result: Histopathological examination of the removed SFLN nodes proved positive for metastases in 9 neck dissections; 2 cases (22.2%) of lip SCC, 3 cases (33.3%) of alveolar margin SCC, and 4 cases (44.4%) of buccal mucosa SCC. Conclusion: SFLNs are a probable site of lymph node metastases in SCC of the lip, alveolar margin, and buccal mucosa. Careful dissection above the lower margin of the mandible can safely remove these nodes without significant injury of the marginal mandibular branch of the facial nerve.
Keywords:
Supramandibular lymph nodes, facial nodes, neck dissection, node metastasis