Millimetre judgement, where your voice, swallow and face are on the table too.
Mouth, tongue, throat, voice box, thyroid, salivary glands. Surgery here is measured twice — once for cancer clearance, once for everything the tumour must not be allowed to take from you.
What are head & neck cancers?
These cancers begin in the moist surfaces of the mouth, nose and throat, or in the glands of the region — tongue, cheek, larynx, tonsil, thyroid, parotid, sinuses. In Gujarat most arise with tobacco, gutkha or areca nut chewing, smoking or regular alcohol — but they also occur without any of these.
The honest arithmetic: caught early, many need one well-planned operation and nothing else. Even advanced cases respond remarkably to combined treatment when staging is done properly first — every case faces the tumour board before any incision, like Scene 02 on our homepage.
The neck-lump rule: any lump in the side of the neck lasting more than three weeks deserves an examination. It is often the first signal — sometimes the only one.
● Most patients say afterwards: “I wish I had come six months earlier.” Come now instead.
Eight signs that deserve a specialist’s eyes
Any of these past three weeks — especially with a tobacco history — warrants examination. Most will be innocent; the ones that aren’t are exactly why we check.
- ①Mouth ulcer that hasn’t healed in three weeks, or bleeds when touched.
- ②A new lump in the neck — painless lumps are the ones people ignore longest.
- ③Hoarseness or voice change persisting beyond three weeks.
- ④Difficulty or pain swallowing, food “sticking” on one side.
- ⑤White or red patches inside the mouth that don’t wipe away.
- ⑥One-sided ear pain with a normal-looking ear — a classic throat signal.
- ⑦Bleeding or a blocked nostril on one side only, or loose upper teeth.
- ⑧A swelling in front of or below the ear — parotid or submandibular gland territory.
Cancers we treat in this region
◆Mouth & Tongue
Oral cavity cancers including buccal mucosa, floor of mouth and alveolus — among the commonest in Gujarat.
◆Throat & Voice Box
Oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx — voice preservation prioritised wherever oncologically safe.
◆Thyroid
Papillary, follicular and medullary cancers plus complex goitres; recurrent laryngeal nerve protection is non-negotiable.
◆Salivary Glands
Parotid and submandibular tumours with facial nerve function protected.
◆Nose & Sinuses
Sinonasal malignancies planned with skull-base colleagues when required.
◆Neck Node of Unknown Origin
Systematic workup to find the hidden primary — a subspecialty in itself.
Operations performed here
- ◆Composite resections for oral cancerTumour removal with precise margin control; rim, hemi or total glossectomy as needed, reconstruction planned in the same sitting.
- ◆Laryngectomy — partial & totalChosen only when voice-preserving options cannot safely cure.
- ◆Transoral laser surgeryNo external cut for selected throat cancers; faster return of speech and swallow.
- ◆Radical & modified radical neck dissectionLymph nodes cleared while nerves and major vessels are protected.
- ◆Thyroidectomy & parotidectomyNerve identification and preservation as standard practice, not exception.
- ◆Reconstruction coordinationLocal flaps and free-flap reconstruction planned with microvascular colleagues for larger defects.
From first visit to full recovery
- 10:00
First consultation
History, examination, endoscopy where needed; biopsies taken the right way, first time.
- 08:12
Staging & tumour board
MRI and CT map exactly what surgery must address; radiation and medical oncology weigh in before decisions.
- 13:26
The plan, explained
What will be removed, what will be preserved, which reconstruction follows — family present, jargon absent.
- 09:15
Surgery
Curative resection to the millimetre, reconstruction coordinated.
- 06:04
Day-one rounds
Drains and flap checks; speech and swallow training begins early — often within days.
- 17:40
Home & surveillance
Rehabilitation continues; scheduled reviews catch anything early, while it is still easy.
Families usually ask…
In most cases, yes — voice-preservation techniques are the default consideration, not the exception. When total laryngectomy is truly necessary, modern voice restoration gives most patients strong, usable speech again.
Small laser procedures: 1–2 days. Major composite resections: typically 7–10 days including swallow training. You get written day-by-day expectations before consenting.
The common types carry excellent long-term cure rates — most patients live completely normal lives after surgery with hormone tablets. Medullary and rarer types get more aggressive individualised plans, discussed honestly.
Depends entirely on final pathology — depth, margins, nodes. Early oral and thyroid cancers frequently avoid it altogether. Evidence decides, not habit.
Yes — a screening oral examination takes five minutes and can catch precancerous changes years before they become cancer. Quitting support is part of the consultation too, without judgment.