Neoplastic seeding of squamous carcinoma of the tongue onto the tracheotomy site: a case report[Insemenzamento neoplastico di carcinoma squamoso della lingua in sede di tracheotomia.]

Neoplastic spreading by seeding occurs through mechanical transfer of some cells from a tumor mass onto healthy tissue of an implantation site. There is significant experimental proof of neoplastic cells seeding in surgical wounds although this seldom occurs in cases of surgery for head and neck tumors. We consider the description of a squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue which spread to the tracheotomy site, most probably through a iatrogenic seeding and conclude that use of a few simple precautions could minimize the frequency of such unfortunate complications.