The effectiveness of the follow-up of patients after surgery due to cancer of the head and neck.

The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of the follow-up (FU) of patients after head and neck cancer treatment. This is a retrospective cross-sectional study and concerns the analysis of outpatient records of 85 women and 355 men who reported at FU visits between 2011 and 2016 in ENT Department in the University Of Medical Sciences in Poznan, Poland. The value of the FU scheme was confirmed by a high rate of recurrence detected in a medical examination (60%) and routine imaging studies (27%), as opposed to only 13% in spontaneous reports. The FU therapeutic profit in the form of high percentages of preclinical relapse at a reasonable cost is justified medically and socially.