Professional paper

Treatment of Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Lip

Emil Dediol
Ivica Lukšić
Mišo Virag

Abstract

Tumors of the lip are squamous cell carcinomas in 95% of the cases. Also, in 95% of the cases they arise on a vermilion
of the lower lip, because of greater exposure of the lower lip vermilion to direct, cumulative UV radiation which is main
etiologic factor in development of squamous cell carcinoma. We have reviewed patients that have been treated for lower
lip carcinoma at the Department for Maxillofacial surgery, University hospital »Dubrava«, from 1990 to 2007. Most common
surgical procedure was V-shaped excision of the lip with or without vermilionectomy. For more extensive tumors we
used some of the reconstruction methods with local or distant flaps (Webster-Bernard, Karapand`i}, free flap). Neck dissection
was performed only in patients with clinically evident metastasis or large carcinoma. Although regional metastasis
is rare, it significantly lowers five-year survival. Also, we found worse outcome in patients that have been treated previously
elsewhere and came for surgical therapy because of recurrent/residual tumor or neck metastasis in comparison to
those that were initially treated at the Department of Maxillofacial surgery.

Keywords

lip cancer; lip reconstruction; neck dissection

Hrčak ID:

35116

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/35116

Publication date:

1.10.2008.

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