Head and neck Cancer rehabilitation

Cancer rehabilitation at the IUCT-Oncopole is managed by a special unit that was created at the initiative of the institute’s phoniatricians and head and neck physicians. The unit’s goals are to prevent/minimize the after effects of treatment (complications, scars, etc.), optimize the recovery process, and reduce disabilities by taking into account the psychological and social aspects of rehabilitation. The cancer rehabilitation team is involved as soon as treatment begins.


In the case of aerodigestive cancers, the unit offers and coordinates all types of intervention that can reduce disabilities:

  • Intensive re-education, making use of technical aids, such as intra-oral prostheses, as appropriate;
  • Compression treatment for lymphedemas, procedures under local anesthetic such as injecting botulinum toxins to reduce neuropathic scars, and procedures to inject autologous or heterologous fillers, etc.;
  • Plastic surgery.

 

The most complex cases are discussed at multidisciplinary team meetings that bring together all the specialists involved in rehabilitation, including, surgeons, radiation therapists, dentists and prosthetists. These meetings allow the rehabilitation team to decide on the most appropriate program for each patient, combining reeducation, prosthetics and surgery.

Contact: 05 31 15 55 26