Dysphagia severity and aspiration risk following oral cavity cancer surgery

Objectives We assessed the severity of dysphagia before and after oral cavity cancer surgery. Methods We retrospectively reviewed modified barium swallow (MBS) studies of 12 patients who underwent surgery for oral cavity cancer. A MBS was performed before and after treatment to assess the severity of dysphagia and aspiration risk. All patients were cancer-free at the time of the posttreatment MBS. Dysphagia severity was graded from 1 to 7 on a scale of increasing severity. Results Before surgery, seven cases were grade 1 and five were grade 2 dysphagia. At a median of 2 months (1–15 months) following surgery, grade 1–6 dysphagia was present in one, two, four, three, one, and one patient, respectively. In all, 17% (2/12) of the patients developed aspiration (grades 5–7). Seven patients (58%) experienced mild to moderate dysphagia. Only three patients (25%) had normal swallowing postoperatively. The two patients who developed aspiration had T3 tumors and underwent hemiglossectomies. Conclusions Dysphagia is common following surgery for oral cavity cancer. Diagnostic studies such as MBS should be included in future prospective oral cavity cancer studies to assess the dysphagia severity and for patient rehabilitation.