Stomal care in pharyngocutaneous fistulas

Pharyngocutaneous fistula is a common complication in head and neck cancer surgery. Elegant technical procedures which have been designed to circumvent the problem, are often of no avail due to the poor status of the surrounding skin. In this paper, four cases are presented where major wound breakdown was treated with techniques used in the "stomal care" clinic (ileostomy, colostomy, etc.). In all cases, the wound gap closed spontaneously and no reconstructive surgery was needed even in huge fistulas. The method is encouraging and easy for the patient. It has advantages in economy of time, money, and discomfort to the patient.