Relative effect of surgery and radiotherapy on the internal jugular vein following functional neck dissection

We examined the internal jugular veins in three groups of patients who had undergone (1) a functional neck dissection and radiotherapy, (2) a functional neck dissection alone, or (3) radiotherapy alone, using a noninvasive color Doppler ultrasound scan. The internal jugular veins were ultrasonically bilaterally normal in 18% of patients who had undergone a functional neck dissection and radiotherapy, in 88% of patients who had undergone a functional neck dissection alone, and in 57% of patients who had undergone radiotherapy alone. The combination of a functional neck dissection and radiotherapy significantly affected the internal jugular vein when compared with a functional neck dissection alone.