[Function preserving surgery of skin and soft tissue tumors: head and neck]

Epithelial malignancies predominantly affect the head and the neck. Ablation requsives free margins of 1 centimeter (except in solid basal cell carcinoma). In a combined modality procedure resection of squamous cell carcinoma is completed by modified neck dissection. The majority of 397 tumor defects were treated by either primary suture and skin grafts or conventional flaps. Indications for 145 microvascular operations were the failure of the classic procedure, expanded defects, and postoperative radiotherapy. Essential for oncological patients with limited life expectancy is the rapid postsurgical recovery in case of free flaps.