European surgeons were the first to perform neck dissection.

The history of the surgical treatment of cervical lymph node metastases began in the 19th century, and, unfortunately, the initial attempts at surgical treatment of neck metastases were disastrous. Although some European surgeons reported few cases of radical en bloc dissection, the first successful surgical procedure was performed and described in detail by Franciszek Jawdyński, a Polish surgeon, in 1888. George Washington Crile popularized and illustrated radical en bloc neck dissection in the early 20th century.