Aim: To evaluate the quality of life of patients after surgical treatment of oral cancer.
Introduction: Oral cancer surgery may have resulted in damage to the act of chewing, swallowing, speech and communication, lead to social incompetence and decline in the quality of life of patients.
Methods: The study included 30 surgically treated patients previously diagnosed with oral cancer at the Department of Maxillofacial Surgery, Clinical Center in Novi Sad. The survey and assessment of Karnofsky index ofpatients was conducted within the regular control visits to a specialist clinic for maxillofacial surgery. The questionnaire is in addition to general information included questions related to the primary tumor localization, harmful habits, stomatognathic system function and psychosocial condition after surgical treatment of oral cancer.
Results: Mean age of patients was 63 years, of which 73.3% were male and 26.7% female. The most common localization of oral cancer was under the mouth of 9 (30%) patients. Alcohol and cigarettes were consumed by 70% of patients. In 50–60% of patients,stomatognathic system function was reduced to varying degrees of severity. Chewing function wasstatisticallysignificantly worse in patients after marginal resection of the mandible (p<0.05). Depression was observed in 18.2% of men and 12.5% women, and the problem of appearance in public places had 40% of patients. Karnofsky index of 25 (83.3%) patients was 100% while the remaining was lower as a result of comorbidity.
Conclusion: The quality of life in terms of stomatognathic system function and psychosocial status was reduced to varying degrees of expression in many patients after surgical treatment of oral cancer. Therefore, the detection of diseases in an early stage is crucial to the survival and quality of life for patient.