Oncological Otorhinolaryngology

 The Complex Structure of Head and Neck Surgery is dedicated to the comprehensive management, surgical treatment, and oncological follow-up of patients with head and neck tumors. It deals with all types of malignant and benign tumors affecting the head and neck region: skin, orbit, oral cavity, oropharynx, larynx, hypopharynx, cervical esophagus and trachea, nose and paranasal sinuses, salivary glands, thyroid, and parathyroids. Therapeutic decisions are shared within a multidisciplinary team integrating the expertise of surgeons, radiation oncologists, medical oncologists, radiologists, pathologists, nuclear medicine physicians, and endocrinologists, all highly experienced in head and neck oncology. This approach allows the most appropriate treatment to be offered, ensuring therapeutic effectiveness while minimizing the impact on quality of life. 

During oncological surgery, reconstruction is performed simultaneously with tumor removal, using a wide range of reconstructive options: extracellular matrices and grafts, local and regional pedicled flaps, free vascularized flaps, as well as chimeric and composite free flaps with multiple components (skin, bone, muscle, fascia). This wide choice allows for selecting the most suitable and effective technique for each patient, rather than adapting limited solutions to all defects. This enables extensive resections, when necessary, while maximizing aesthetic and functional outcomes. 

A Head and Neck Surgery Fellowship program, established by Prof. Deganello, provides specific surgical training aimed at educating young ENT specialists through a two-year program divided into four semesters. It focuses on developing surgical, scientific, and cultural skills, guided by values of altruism and common good to train future physicians in a serious and intensive manner. 

The use of the Da Vinci Robot further expands the therapeutic offer, complementing the existing experience in endoscopic and microscopic minimally invasive surgery, always striving for innovation and minimal surgical trauma. 

The ward has 14 beds for patients undergoing surgery. In addition to standard surgery, day hospital surgical procedures are performed, both inpatient and outpatient. 

Outpatient activities include first visits and specialist follow-ups (over 5000 per year). There are also approximately 1500 multidisciplinary visits, where the ENT specialist works alongside an oncologist and/or radiation oncologist dedicated to head and neck oncology. For thyroid pathology, a multidisciplinary clinic with both endocrinologist and ENT specialist evaluates and defines the best treatment strategy.