This chapter discusses emergencies in surgical oncology, where head and neck squamous cell carcinoma is usually a slow-growing tumor. Airway obstruction arises, in part, due to the complex etiology of the disease and the medical history of the patient. The many etiologies for airway obstruction can be classified as infectious, inflammatory, traumatic, airway surgery, external blunt injury or neoplastic. Benign lesions that can produce airway obstruction include vascular malformations, hamartomas and benign tumors of minor salivary glands. The classification assigns four gradations depending on the visualization of the posterior oropharynx structures. Hypopharynx and larynx examination includes indirect mirror laryngoscopy, flexible or rigid laryngoscopy. The respiratory failure can be attributed to difficult lung expansion secondary to changes in lung mechanics. Carotid blowout syndrome can be defined as an acute bleeding episode, which occurs transorally or transcervical in a patient that has undergone curative or palliative treatment for a head and neck malignancy.