Preventing Lymphedema in Patients Undergoing Surgical Treatment for Head and Neck Cancer Through Vein Reconstruction

Lymphedema Prevention With Facial Vein Preservation or Reconstruction During Neck Dissection for Operable Head & Neck Cancer

* The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if facial vein reconstruction after neck dissection works to reduce rates of lymphedema in adults getting surgical treatment for head and neck cancer.

This is a trial which aims to improve the rate of lymphedema for patients undergoing treatment for head and neck cancer. Our aim is to re-establish venous flow across the facial vein to improve lymphatic drainage after neck dissection.

• We will also evaluate lymphatic flow before and after facial vein reconstruction to determine if there is evidence of lymphedema.

• The main questions this study aims to answer are:

  1. Does facial vein reconstruction after neck dissection improved lymphatic flow in head and neck cancer patients?
  2. Can we see changes in lymphatic flow before and after facial vein reconstruction?

After the study is completed, we will compare rates of lymphedema and quality of life in patients with facial vein preservation/reconstruction as compared to previous patients treated for head and neck cancer without facial vein reconstruction.

Participants will undergo the following:

1. Oncologic and reconstructive surgery as normal. No changes in cancer treatment will occur due to the study.
2. When necessary, patients will undergo facial vein reconstruction immediately after neck dissection
3. Visit the clinic once every 3 months for routine checkups and tests. This is typical for most patients treated for head and neck cancer including those not enrolled in the trial.
4. Fill out short questionnaires to help us understand quality of life after head and neck cancer treatment
5. Undergo lymphography in the OR and at the 1-year mark in the office. This is a simple test performed without radiation exposure. It requires 3 very small skin injections to perform the test.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Head and Neck Cancer
• Intervention / Treatment: Procedure: Facial Vein Reconstruction

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 37
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Shaum S Sridharan, M.D.; Phone Number: 412-647-2130; Email: sridharans2@upmc.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sridharan; Phone Number: 5126989399; Email: sridharans2@upmc.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Pennsylvania
    • Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, 15213
      • UPMC Presbyterian Hospital and UPMC Shadyside Hospital
      • Contact: Shaum S Sridharan, M.D.; Phone Number: 412-647-2130; Email: sridharans2@upmc.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group (ECOG) performance status 0 or 1
• Ability to comply with the study protocol, including follow up visits and additional requirements for data collection
• Ability to provide informed consent
• Patients requiring unilateral or bilateral neck dissection. Patients must undergo at least three level neck dissection which must include level 1B
• Patients will undergo radiotherapy +/-chemotherapy after surgery for HNC. Patients will be required to have adjuvant therapy after surgery to have similar risk of development of lymphedema.
• No history of allergy to indocyanine green.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Shellfish Allergy
• Contraindication to surgery under general anesthesia
• Prior head and neck surgery, radiation, or chemotherapy for HNC
• Patients requiring sacrifice of the internal jugular vein or resection of neck skin for oncologic care
• Anticipated partial or total laryngectomy
• Pregnancy or lactation

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Facial Vein Reconstruction Group; When necessary, patients will get facial vein reconstruction immediately after neck dissection. They will also undergo lymphography before and after vein reconstruction. If the facial vein is intact, no intervention is needed, but the patient may still participate in the study.	Procedure: Facial Vein Reconstruction; Immediately after neck dissection, the facial vein will be assessed. If the vein has been ligated for the neck dissection, then the vein will be repaired. This may require vein graft and the use of a venous coupler. If the vein is intact after neck dissection, we can proceed without surgical intervention.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Lymphedema Staging	The primary endpoint is the presence or absence of head and neck lymphedema (HNL) at follow-up, assessed using the MD Anderson Cancer Center Head and Neck Lymphedema (MDACC HNL) Scale. This scale is measured from 0 to 2. As the numbers increase, the severity of lymphedema increases. A score of 0 means there was no lymphedema present	before surgery and every three months after surgery up to 1 year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
internal lymphedema	We will utilize the Patterson Internal lymphedema scale to assess lymphedema during routine flexible laryngoscopy in the clinic. Patient will be undergoing flexible laryngoscopy as part of routine surveillance. Several sites within the larynx and hypopharynx are graded as to the severity of edema(swelling). Each site is rated as none, mild, moderate, or severe edema.	before surgery and every 3 months after surgery up to 1 year
Head and Neck Lymphedema and Fibrosis Symptom Inventory	The Head and Neck Lymphedema and Fibrosis Symptom Inventory (HNLEF) is the only validated symptom scale specific for HNL. HNLEF represents a 33 item survey around 7 domains of survivorship including soft tissue and neurologic toxicity, social functioning, oral dysfunction, body image, taste and swallowing, mucosal irritation, and communication. HNLEF has been shown to capture HNL-related symptom burden and functional impairments. Quality of life in regards to head and neck lymphedema are deemed worse with higher scores. This tool contains 33 items (symptoms), which are answered in a "yes" or "no" format. If patients answer "yes" to any given item, they are then asked to rate the intensity of the respective symptom on a five-point scales. Each item then receives a score ranging from "0" (Does not experience the symptom) to "5" (Experiences the symptom with severe intensity). Scores can be examined with individual symptoms or based on average score for each subscale.	These will be performed before surgery and every 3 months after surgery up to 1 year
Indocyanine Green Near-infrared imaging	We will identify quality of head and neck lymphatic flow including disruption of lymphatic pathways and areas of pooling of indocyanine green. Several observations will be recorded based on imaging. These will be deemed as present or absent without scale.; Presence of pooling demonstrating disrupted lymphatic pathways; Lymphatic escape pathways; Lymphatic flow across facial vein; Presence of lymphatic disruption not addressed by facial vein preservation/reconstruction	intraoperatively and at 1 year following surgery
The University of Washington Quality of Life	The University of Washington Quality of Life (UW-QOL Version 4) is a validated and reliable measure of physical and social-emotional QOL widely used in head and neck cancer. Twelve items assessing appearance, swallowing, chewing, speech, taste, saliva, pain, activity, recreation, shoulder function, mood, and anxiety are scored on a scale from 0 (worst possible response) to 100 (best possible response). Physical and social-emotional subscale scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better QOL. A minimal clinically important difference (MCID) on the UW-QOL v4 subscales is generally considered to be approximately 5 points, representing a change that patients are likely to perceive as meaningful. A moderate clinically important change has been estimated at approximately 10 points, reflecting a more substantial improvement in patient-reported outcomes.	Before surgery and every 3 months up to 1 year after treatment.
The Functional Oral Intake Scale	The Functional Oral Intake Scale (FOIS) can be utilized to measure oral intake ability before and after treatment. FOIS has been used across specialties and utilized a grading symptoms from 1-5. Level 1 indicates nothing taken orally; Level 2 indicates tube reliance with few attempts to take food or drinks orally; Level 3 indicates tube dependence with regular oral intake of food or liquids; Level 4 indicates a total oral diet but requires special preparations, compensations, or not expanded from whole-bottle feeding; and Level 5 indicates a total oral diet without special preparation. A higher score represents more swallowing disability	Before surgery and every 3 months up to 1 year after treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Pittsburgh
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Shaum Sridharan, M.D., Shaum Sridharan, Associate Professor, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Raad RA, Obuekwe F, Smith JD, Berry J, Chinn SB, Spector BE, Maxwell J, Kim S, Zevallos JP, Contrera KJ, Sridharan SS, Nilsen ML, Spector ME. Facial Vein Ligation is Associated with Lymphedema Among Patients with Head and Neck Cancer Undergoing Surgery and Radiation. Ann Surg Oncol. 2026 Mar;33(3):2485-2492. doi: 10.1245/s10434-025-18669-9. Epub 2025 Nov 1.

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): July 1, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): July 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 3, 2026
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): July 10, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): July 10, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: July 3, 2026
• Last Verified: June 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: head and neck cancer; lymphedema; head and neck lymphedema
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neoplasms by Site; Neoplasms; Lymphatic Diseases; Hemic and Lymphatic Diseases; Lymphedema; Head and Neck Neoplasms
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY26010093

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No