The questionable value of total glossectomy

In a personal series of 104 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue, 14 patients were treated with total glossectomy and laryngectomy, and 2 were treated with total glossectomy alone. The high rate of local recurrence that occurred when partial glossectomy followed curative radiotherapy suggests that in selected patients total glossectomy is of value. Patients with more extensive tumors requiring total laryngectomy are rarely cured and the procedure entails serious rehabilitation problems.