Fine needle aspiration of the head & neck

Fine needle aspiration biopsy has many applications in the head and neck region. All sites and tissues are accessible, deep sites with the assistance of CT. The biopsy is quick, minimally traumatic and readily accepted by patients. From a practical point of view, the most important application is in the investigation of suspected recurrence or spread of a known malignancy following surgery, radiotherapy or chemotherapy. It is also useful in the pre-operatlve diagnosis and staging of untreated tumours and in some inflammatory processes. The importance of a team approach, clinician-radiologlst-patholo-glst, is emphasized. A number of diagnostic problems from the Flinders Medical Centre experience will be briefly discussed, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma, some primary salivary gland tumours, branchial cysts and paragangliomas.