Intraoperative assessment of resection completeness remains challenging in oncological head and neck surgery as is illustrated by 20-30% of inadequate resection margins at final pathological assessment. Inadequate surgical margins correlate with a significantly worse overall survival and warrant additional treatments, such as radio- and chemotherapy, which often result in patient morbidity and increased healthcare costs. Fluorescence-guided surgery, which is based on intraoperative visualization of a systemic infused fluorescence-labeled tumor tracer, is being developed to improve visualization of the tumor borders while operating. This technology would add important information to traditional tactile and visual data. The following chapter discusses the clinical application of fluorescence-guided surgery techniques, that can assist the surgeon in achieving oncologically sound head and neck cancer resection.
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