Innovative Acute Pain Management: Methylene Blue Oral Rinse for Refractory Post-Surgical Mucositis Pain in Head/Neck Cancer

Saturday, November 15, 2025

2:39 PM - 2:47 PM CT

Location: 301 - 302

Introduction: Head and neck cancers, particularly oral squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), affect 275,000+ patients globally annually [1,2]. Advanced disease often requires extensive surgical reconstruction using complex flaps [3]. Postoperative pain management with standard multimodal analgesia, including acetaminophen, NSAIDS, opioids, and regional blocks, presents significant challenges, especially when complicated by oral mucositis. Methylene blue oral solution has emerged as a promising adjunct for mucositis-associated pain in outpatient settings, though its use in inpatient settings remains limited [4,5].

Co-Author(s)

EK

Emily Kim, MS4

Medical Student
University of Texas Medical Branch, United States
AS

Aditi Sarode, MS4

Medical Student
University of Texas Medical Branch, United States

Submitting Author(s)

AA

Amit K. Aggarwal, DO

Resident Physician
University of Texas Medical Branch, Texas, United States

Co-Author(s)

HT

Heather Tisdale, MD

Faculty Anesthesiologist
University of Texas Medical Branch, United States
RG

Richesh Guragain, MD

Assistant Professor
Department of Anesthesiology, University of Texas Medical Branch, United States