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K. Thomas Robbins, MD; Ashok R. Shaha, MD; Jesus E. Medina, MD; Joseph A. Califano, MD; Gregory T. Wolf, MD; Alfio Ferlito, MD; Peter M. Som, MD; Terry A. Day, MD; for the Committee for Neck Dissection Classification, American Head and Neck Society

Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2008;134(5):536-538.

Objective  To update the guidelines for neck dissection terminology, as previously recommended by the American Head and Neck Society.

Participants  Committee for Neck Dissection Classification, American Head and Neck Society; representation from the Committee for Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology, American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery (T.A.D.).

Evidence  Review of current literature on neck dissection classification.

Consensus Process  Semiannual face-to-face meetings of the Committee for Neck Dissection Terminology and e-mail correspondence.

Conclusions  Standardization of terminology for neck dissection is important for communication among clinicians and researchers. New recommendations have been made regarding the following: boundaries between levels I and II and between levels III/IV and VI; terminology of the superior mediastinal nodes; and the method of submitting surgical specimens for pathologic analysis.

Author Affiliations: Division of Otolaryngology, Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Springfield (Dr Robbins); Head and Neck Service, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, New York (Dr Shaha); Department of Otolaryngology, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City (Dr Medina); Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland (Dr Califano); Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (Dr Wolf); Department of Surgical Sciences, Otorhinolaryngologic Clinic, University of Udine, Udine, Italy (Dr Ferlito); Department of Radiology, Mount Sinai Medical Center, New York, New York (Dr Som); and Department of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston (Dr Day).
Group Information: Drs Robbins, Shaha, Medina, Califano, Wolf, Ferlito, Som, and Day comprise the Committee for Neck Dissection Classification, American Head and Neck Society.