1 Introduction The incidence of head and neck cancers (HNC) continues to rise worldwide, with the most recent global statistics reporting 946 456 new cases and 482 001 deaths in 2022 [1]. Treatment is multimodal, consisting of surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy [2, 3]. Management of post-operative complications remains critical, as complications can delay or prevent adjuvant therapies, with direct implications on survival outcomes.