Aesthetic cervicofacial surgery for head and neck tumor patients.

Carefully selected head and neck tumor patients can safely undergo a wide variety of aesthetic surgical procedures. The malignancy must first be adequately treated and clinically controlled before elective surgery. Each tumor patient's general health and life expectancy must be honestly assessed prior to aesthetic surgery, because operating on an individual who cannot survive to enjoy the benefits is injudicious. Through the combined efforts of sophisticated oncology and plastic surgery, the patient survival rate can be improved as quality of life is enriched in appropriately selected and carefully managed individuals.