Surgery is the oldest form of treatment for cancer. It also has an important role in diagnosing and staging (finding the extent) of cancer. Advances in surgical techniques have allowed surgeons to successfully operate on a growing number of patients. Today, less invasive operations are often done to remove tumors and to try to preserve as much normal oral cavity structure and function as possible. Surgery offers the greatest chance for cure for many types of cancer, especially those that have not yet spread to other parts of the body. When the disease is localized, a surgical procedure may be able to remove the cancer in its entirety. Most people with cancer will have some type of surgery.
Surgery can be done for any of several reasons. It is often done to achieve more than one of these goals:
Preventive (or prophylactic) surgery is done to remove body tissue that is not malignant but is likely to become malignant. For example, this type of surgery may be used if you ha