Efficacy of Per Oral Access in the Surgical Management of T2/T3 Oral Cavity Squamous Cell Carcinoma

ObjectiveTranscutaneous “access” procedures still continue to be widely employed for surgical management of medium-sized (T2, T3) oral cavity tumors in spite of the almost 4-cm mouth opening available to the surgeon to access the oral cavity. We undertook a retrospective study to objectively evaluate “per oral access” in managing these tumors with regard to the ability to achieve a clear surgical margin and enable reconstruction of resultant defect.Study DesignCase series with chart review.SettingTertiary academic hospital.Subjects and MethodsSeventy-nine consecutive patients of oral squamous cell carcinoma excised by per oral approach were analyzed. Multiple patient- and tumor-related factors known to influence status of surgical margins were analyzed. The overall frequency of clear, close, and involved margins was noted, as well as 5-year local control rate. The method of reconstruction employed was evaluated.ResultsThe close/involved margins were more frequent with larger tumors and tumors exhibiting p...