125I vicryl suture implants as a surgical adjuvant in cancer of the head and neck.

Sixty-four intraoperative 125I seed implants using absorbable suture (Vicryl) carriers were performed in 53 patients with head and neck cancers at Stanford between 1975 and 1980. In previously untreated patients, local control in the implanted volume or in all head and neck sites was obtained in 79 and 71%, respectively. Five of these patients (40%) remained NED. Of 34 patients with recurrent carcinomas, local control was obtained in the implant volume in 20 (59%), while 38% had no recurrence post-implantation in any head and neck site. The incidence of complications is correlated with 125I radiation doses, total millicuries inserted, seed strength used, and tissue volume implanted for both untreated patients and those with local recurrences. Guidelines for the optimal use of the above 4 parameters are also presented. We conclude that 125I seed Vicryl intraoperative suture implants are an effective surgical adjuvant in the treatment of advanced, previously untreated or recurrent head and neck cancers.