| Message: Chronic Neck Pain After Oromandibular Reconstruction
Lukas D. Dumberger, MD1; Leila J. Mady, MD, PhD, MPH1; Steven B. Cannady, MD1
Author Affiliations
1Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia
JAMA Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2021;147(9):826-827. doi:10.1001/jamaoto.2021.1685
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A 64-year-old woman with a history of hyperlipidemia, hypertension, HIV infection, coronary artery disease, and squamous cell carcinoma of the left mandible treated with composite resection, left neck dissection, and fibula free flap (FFF) reconstruction followed by postoperative radiotherapy presented with sharp, shooting left neck pain. Beginning 5 months after her reconstruction, the patient reported point tenderness on the left jaw, facial swelling, and electric pain with severity of 7 out of 10 in the left neck that occurred with talking or eating. Her postoperative course was complicated by osteoradionecrosis post-tracheostomy, plate removal, and left segmental mandibulectomy. She received regular physical therapy and lymphedema therapy and was seen by Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, who treated her with onabotulinum toxin A injections; neither provided significant resolution of her symptoms. Review of a computed tomography scan of the head and neck (Figure 1) performed o n follow-up 5 years after initial reconstruction demonstrated a long, hyperdense structure in the left submental, submandibular region with accompanying soft-tissue thickening. On further review of prior imaging, this calcification appeared as a new finding in various scans dating back to 5 months after FFF reconstruction compared with preoperative imaging. There was no fluorodeoxyglucose avidity in the area of question on multiple positron emission tomography scans done during this follow-up window. |
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