[Life threatening and fatal complications of radical neck dissection]

Between 1990 and 1999, 395 neck dissections were performed in 357 patients: 195 left-sided (105 of these radical) and 200 right-sided (107 of these radical). Life-threatening complications occurred in four cases and two patients died.

After left-sided radical neck dissection with chylous fistula, a chylothorax resulted, which could not be controlled in spite of chest tube drainage and thoracotomy so that the 75-year-old female patient died 30 days postoperatively. A 66-year-old man died 35 days after a functional neck dissection of the left side because of extreme chylous flow of up to 7 l/day in spite of parenteral nutrition, local surgical revision, and intrathoracic ligation of the thoracic duct. Undetected cirrhosis of the liver was regarded to be the reason for this extremely increased lymph flow. In a 63-year-old man, a jugular foramen hemorrhage during radical neck dissection could only be managed after 3 h and approximately 6 l of blood loss. In a 66-year-old man, a discrete injury of the pleura led to cardiovascular failure due to a tension pneumothorax with mediastinal shift about 45 min later, which required immediate chest tube placement.

In none of these unusual cases, which accounted for 1% of all evaluated interventions, had the patients been informed about the observed complication. However, no legal consequences resulted. Nevertheless, dramatic courses of chylous fistulas and rare complications should be considered both forensically when seeking informed consent and clinically.