[Outcome of the surgery of cancers of upper respiratory and digestive tracts].

The best treatment for cancer of the head and neck remains surgery followed by radiotherapy. The surgical resection became progressively more conservative for tumor of the hypopharynx and larynx whereas resection of buccal and oropharyngeal tumors became more aggressive without adding extra mutilation. New reconstructive techniques have allowed both extended resection and reconstruction with a major concern for function and cosmesis. First to be used, myocutaneous flaps have remained the workhorse of reconstructive surgery for the head and neck, mainly because they are quick to harvest and less demanding than free flaps. Nevertheless microvascular skin, bone and digestive flaps, are becoming more and more widely used even though time consuming. This drawback is balanced by the high standard of reconstruction achieved by these flaps, allowing a shorter hospital stay and a quicker rehabilitation.