[The painflu stiff shoulder following radical neck dissection (author's transl)].

72 patients following radical neck dissection were studied. The accessory nerve was sacrificed in 60 patients and preserved in the remaining patients (for a control group). The most important clinical findings in all patients are reported. Most patients with loss of the accessory nerve complained more of postoperative pain and limitation of shoulder movement than of other clinical difficulties or cosmetic defects.