Long-term quality of life after ablative XXXX surgery.

@entity1 @entity154 @entity5 @entity158 @entity1282
The aim of the present retrospective study was to determine the long-term quality of life of @entity1 who had undergone @entity5 resection. 135 @entity1 with a @entity5 located in the floor of the mouth and the adjacent area were enrolled in the study. A standard questionnaire was used to determine the physical functional status, the psychological status and social functioning of @entity5 @entity1 (Schipper et al., 1984). The results were related to the T-stage, the size and the location of the intraoral soft tissue defect, the mode of reconstruction and the postoperative interval. The results showed a significant correlation of the Functional Living Index-Cancer (FLIC) score with the Karnowsky-Index. The values were significantly lower in the higher T-stages. The location of the soft tissue defect, the type of soft tissue reconstruction and discontinuity resections of the mandible were crucial for postoperative quality of life, inasmuch as @entity154 with loss of mandibular continuity and myocutaneous flap reconstructions showed significantly lower FLIC values. Reconstruction of mandibular continuity did not contribute to an increase in FLIC values. @entity1282 , reflux of food through the lips and nose during meals, decreased appetite and persistent @entity158 significantly decreased the FLIC scores. It is concluded, that the FLIC is suitable for the determination of life quality in @entity5 @entity1 since the score has shown the potential to reflect differences in postoperative life quality with regard to surgical procedures and functional sequelae.
