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Scientific Oral Presentation

Head and Neck Surgery

Postoperative Outcomes Following Neck Dissection by Surgical Specialty: An NSQIP Analysis

Saturday, October 17, 2026
9:48 AM - 9:54 AM PT
Location: West Exhibit Hall A, Learning Zone 3

    Presenting Author(s)

  • Janvi J. Shukla, BA

    Research Fellow
    Thomas Jefferson University
    Newark, NJ, United States

    • Co-Author(s)

  • PA

    Peter J. Attia, BA

    Medical Student
    Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
    Newark, New Jersey, United States

  • KY

    Kenneth Yan, MD, PhD

    Assistant Professor
    Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
    Newark, NJ, United States

    • Senior Author(s)

  • Rachel J. Kaye, MD

    Associate Professor
    Rutgers New Jersey Medical School
    Newark, New Jersey, United States

Disclosure(s):
Janvi J. Shukla, BA:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Kenneth Yan, MD, PhD:

faculty for this accredited education activity has no relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.

Introduction: Neck dissection is performed most commonly by otolaryngology (ENT) and general surgery (GS) subspecialties. Differences in patient complexity and operative context may influence postoperative complication rates and confound comparisons between specialties.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted using the National Surgical Quality Improvement Program (NSQIP) database. Patients undergoing neck dissection were stratified by surgeon specialty (ENT vs GS). Baseline characteristics, wound classification, cancer status, and postoperative complications were compared. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to evaluate the association between specialty and postoperative complications after adjustment for Risk Analysis Index (RAI; incorporating age, sex, and cancer status), diabetes, smoking status, ASA class, wound class, and inpatient versus outpatient status.

Results: 23,872 neck dissections were identified (ENT: 17,577; GS: 6,295). Unadjusted postoperative complication rates were higher in the ENT cohort (14.0% vs 4.7%, p< 0.001). However, ENT surgeons were more likely to operate on patients with non-clean wounds (46.0% vs 7.0%, p< 0.0001) and higher RAI score (p <.001). Malignancy rates were similar between GS and ENT (8.9% vs 8.8%, p=0.8). After multivariable adjustment, ENT specialty was not independently associated with post-operative complications (OR 0.94, 95% CI 0.84–1.05, p=0.3).

Conclusions: Despite managing patients with significantly greater operative complexity and higher baseline risk, ENT surgeons achieve postoperative outcomes comparable to general surgery following neck dissection. Our findings highlight the ability of ENT surgeons to deliver equivalent outcomes in more challenging clinical scenarios.