[Surgery of neck vessels (author's transl)]

The progress in vascular surgery offers to the otolaryngologist a remarkable increase of his surgical activities. This is especially true in the field of tumor surgery in the region of the carotid arteries and the jugular vein (e.g. removement of carotid body-tumor, lymphnode deposits by neckdissection etc.). Both the ligature of the internal as the common carotid arteries should be--when ever possible--avoided. The method of choice is an arterial reconstruction (by direct vascular suture or an autogenous venous graft respectively a Dacronprosthesis). In the presence of wound infection or damaged soft tissue by radiation any vascular repair is contraindicated except of an extra-anatomic bypass-procedure. Every otolaryngologist engaged with great neck surgery should be familiar with the basic principles of vascular surgery and should keep a set of vascular instruments available. Some neck interventions, dealing with the great vessels, are best performed in teamwork of laryngologist and vascular surgeon.