Arch Otolaryngol
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In 1991, the Committee for Head and Neck Surgery and Oncology of the American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery proposed to define the anatomic boundaries between the lymph node levels in the neck, as initially described by the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center (New York, NY). Recently, radiological parameters have been outlined to identify boundaries between various neck levels. ⋯ Based on anatomic evidence and surgical experience, we advocate the subdivision of level Va into 2 sections: the apex of level Va or level Vas (superior) and level Vai (inferior), demarcated by the lower two thirds of the spinal accessory nerve. Dissection of level Vas is not necessary in most head and neck cancers but should be considered only in selected skin cancer of the posterior cephalic area (retroauricular region, occipital scalp).