For patients with malignant tumors, the most fearful phrase from doctors is: “It is too late to operate”. This is tantamount to giving a death sentence to the patient and depriving the patient of the right to live. Recently, the Department of Otolaryngology of our hospital, relying on the advantages of “Shanghai Center for Head and Neck Cancer Diagnosis and Translational Medicine”, successfully operated on a patient with advanced middle ear cancer, who was previously considered inoperable, and restored the hope of life. The patient, Zhang Moumou, female, 45 years old, had surgery plus radiation therapy for middle ear cancer in a tertiary hospital in Shanghai 18 months ago. 8 months ago, she developed peripheral facial palsy with fluid flowing from the external ear canal, and was diagnosed as having recurrence of middle ear squamous carcinoma at the follow-up examination. After a detailed examination, Dr. Shi diagnosed middle ear squamous carcinoma T4N1M0. It was thought that the patient’s condition was late and the patient could not be effectively treated by the otolaryngology department alone, but with the help of our newly established However, with the advantage of “Shanghai Center for Head and Neck Cancer Diagnosis and Translational Medicine”, which was established in 2012, it was possible to provide effective treatment for the patient. So, Dr. Shi Runjie brought the patient to the seminar on difficult cases of oral and maxillofacial head and neck tumors after conducting the necessary additional examinations. At the meeting, more than ten experts led by Prof. Chenping Zhang, the executive director of Shanghai Head and Neck Tumor Diagnosis and Treatment and Translational Medicine Center and the director of Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Tumor, made a thorough analysis and discussion on the patient’s condition, and considered that the patient could be given a chance of surgical treatment by combining the strengths of multiple departments. At that time, a surgical plan was formulated with the simultaneous participation of three departments, namely, oral and maxillofacial-head and neck oncology, neurosurgery and otorhinolaryngology. After the patient was admitted to the otorhinolaryngology ward, the surgery was carried out after thorough preoperative preparation and consultation with the anesthesiology department. The tumor was completely removed from the base of the skull around the internal cervical arterioles, and then Dr. Zuhui Zhou, attending surgeon of the Department of Oral and Maxillofacial-Head and Neck Oncology, performed the free anterolateral femoral flap repair. The operation lasted 12 hours with the cooperation of the Department of Anesthesiology and was successfully completed at 22:00 with only 600 ml of blood transfusion during the operation. After discharge, the patient and his family sent a letter of commendation and a silk banner with great gratitude. At present, the patient is under close follow-up and treatment, while the second patient with the same disease has been admitted to the hospital and is waiting for treatment.