INCREASED INTRACRANIAL PRESSURE FOLLOWING RADICAL NECK SURGERY

Abstract

THE PURPOSE of this paper is to illustrate the marked increase in intracranial pressure that occurs after radical operations on the neck and the methods used in an attempt to overcome this abnormality. The most acceptable therapy for cancer of the head and neck is wide surgical excision. Radical neck dissection involves removal of the superficial and deep cervical structures, including the sternocleidomastoid muscle, the external and internal jugular veins and the entire block of tissue containing the superficial and deep cervical lymphatic vessels. This procedure, therefore, requires the removal of the internal jugular vein from the base of the skull to the base of the neck. That such is the accepted practice is indicated by several papers and communications.¹ The cases herein analyzed involve 11 patients who were operated on in the above-mentioned method for cancer of the head and/or neck. The individual diagnoses are indicated in Table