Head & Neck

The multidisciplinary team at Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology has a reputation in the comprehensive management of patients with benign or malignant oral conditions and those affecting head and neck territory. This incorporates diagnosis, investigation, comprehensive treatment, rehabilitation and follow-up.

It is responsible for the treatment of patients with the following tumours:

• Oral cavity (tongue, mandible, floor of mouth, cheek, palate and lips)
• Oropharynx (tonsils, soft palate, base of tongue and epiglottic vallecula)
• Larynx (vocal cords, epiglottis, vestibular ligaments and the sub-glottis)
• Hypopharynx (piriform sinus, posterior wall, retrocricoarytenoid region and upper oesophageal sphincter)
• Facial skeleton (nose; nasal cavity; ethmoid, maxillary and sphenoid sinuses; base of the skull; orbit; and the pterygo-maxillary and infratemporal fossae)
• Nasopharynx
• Salivary glands (parotid, submandibular, sublingual and accessory salivary glands)

The commonest oral cancers is squamous cell lesions which arise in the oral mucosa and the mucosa of the tonsils, the pharynx or the larynx (vocal cords). Their development is sometimes preceded by a pre-malignant lesion. These cancers are usually secondary to smoking and somkeless consumption of tobacco and alcohol.

The other types of upper airways cancer are rarer and are thus subject to highly specialised treatment at Zulekha Yenepoya Institute of Oncology

• adenocarcinoma and other tumour types, in particular those arising in the salivary glands
• lymphomas
• Sarcomas

Finally, we manage many patients with benign tumours such as those of the salivary glands, in particular the parotids, and patients with precancerous lesions, especially in the oral cavity. A multidisciplinary approach is possible because the Institute houses all the specialties which work together to provide traditional and innovatory care. These include surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, medical imaging, interventional radiology, the Maxillo-Facial Prosthetic Laboratory, anaesthetics and intensive care, as well as the support services (speech therapy, pain relief, nutrition and psycho oncology).