Salvage surgeries of head and neck cancer are often complicated and do not always show decent results. This type of procedure is tough on the patient, as many crucial organs can be affected. A long period of reeducation usually follows the surgery because of the need to rehabilitate functions such as speech or swallowing. In order to lighten the journey of the patients, it is important to develop new technologies and techniques to ease the surgery and limit its damages. This seems even more crucial since progress has been made in the past years, allowing more salvage therapy to take place. This article aims at showing the available tools and procedures for salvage surgeries, such as transoral robotic surgery, free-flap surgery, sentinel node mapping, and many others, that help the work of the medical team to operate or obtain a better understanding of the status of the cancer when taken in charge. Yet, the surgical procedure is not the only thing determining the outcome of the operation. The patient themself and their cancer history also play an important part in the care and must be acknowledged.

A 3-year-old girl presented with recurrent exotropia following primary strabismus surgery. Careful fundus examination of the left eye revealed loss of the foveal reflex and presence of a subtle grayish mass with overlying white fluff. Optical coherence tomography through the lesion revealed disorganization of inner and outer retinal layers with accompanying epiretinal gliosis. Together, these findings were suggestive of combined hamartoma of the retina and retinal pigment epithelium (CHRRPE). No syndromic association was found. CHRRPE is a rare retinal tumor that usually presents with visual loss, strabismus, or follows an asymptomatic course. Retinal tumors must be kept in mind whenever loss of foveal reflex occurs concurrently with strabismus.

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