Transoral robotic surgery for head and neck carcinomas

Area of Science:

• Oncology
• Surgical Oncology
• Otolaryngology

Background:

• Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is an evolving minimally invasive technique for head and neck cancers.
• Assessing the feasibility, safety, and learning curve of TORS is crucial for its wider adoption.

Purpose of the Study:

• To prospectively evaluate the feasibility and safety of TORS for head and neck carcinomas.
• To report the learning curve and 2-year outcomes of TORS in a clinical setting.

Main Methods:

• Prospective inclusion of patients with oropharyngeal, hypopharyngeal, and laryngeal tumors treated with TORS.
• Evaluation of surgical outcomes including feasibility, operative time, blood loss, margins, tracheotomy, feeding tube use, oral feeding resumption, and complications.

Main Results:

• 96% of TORS procedures were successful in resecting 24 out of 25 carcinomas.
• No tracheotomies were required; most patients resumed oral feeding within 3 days.
• Mean follow-up of 20 months showed no deaths or local/metastatic failures, with one positive margin managed by chemoradiation.

Conclusions:

• TORS is a feasible and safe surgical approach for selected head and neck carcinomas.
• Intraoperative bleeding highlights the importance of surgeon proficiency in both transoral and open surgical techniques.