[Perioperative prophylaxis with cefmenoxime and metronidazole in patients with head and neck tumors]

Twenty-one patients with carcinoma of the larynx, hypopharynx and the tongue underwent surgery under perioperative prophylaxis with cefmenoxime and metronidazole. Healing was uneventful and the clinical and the chemical parameters remained normally. The level of the antibiotics was effective against most of the bacteria cultured from tracheal aspirate and the posterior wall of the oral cavity. Effective perioperative antibiotic prophylaxis is necessary in head and neck surgery: the use of simple antibiotics in short courses should be assessed.