The usual management of upper aero digestive tract squamous cell carcinoma is surgery associated or not to post surgical radiotherapy. Loco-regional relapses constitute the main failure of the initial treatment and early diagnosis justifies the indication of salvage surgery. AIM: Descriptive analysis of demographic data and staging for salvage surgery of oropharynx tumors. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied retrospectively 78 patients submitted to surgery in all cases; however, just 37 patients received post surgical radiotherapy. RESULTS: There was a predominance of males in 70 cases, with mean age of 54.2 years, and 54 patients were Caucasian. The patients were classified as T3 and T4 in 38 cases and 40 patients were classified as N0 neck. 35 patients developed loco-regional distant relapses. 17 patients were submitted to salvage surgery and 12 patients were reclassified as T1; 2 patients T2 and in relation to the clinical stage N, 2 patients were N2a and 2 patients N2b. The average age of the patients submitted to salvage surgery was 52.8 years, with predominance of male Caucasians. CONCLUSION: Clinical stage I and II were accorded salvage surgery.
squamous cell carcinoma; salvage surgery; oropharynx
