Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 30, 2026
Identification and Protection of the Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve during Transoral Robotic Thyroidectomy
Published on: October 24, 2025
Determination of biometric measures to evaluate patient suitability for transoral robotic surgery
Asit Arora1, Jalpa Kotecha1, Amish Acharya1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, St. Mary's Hospital, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London, United Kingdom.
Background:
Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) represents a novel treatment for oropharyngeal cancer and obstructive sleep apnea. Appropriate patient selection is crucial. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether anatomic biometric measures are useful to determine the feasibility of performing TORS.
Methods:
Three surgeons independently evaluated feasibility in 51 soft-fix cadavers. Transoral visualization was performed with 2 retractors commonly used in TORS. Seven anthropometric parameters and the degree of mouth opening were recorded.
Results:
Mandibular body height, hyoid-mental length, and neck circumference demonstrated significant differences between "suboptimal" and "adequate" visualization of base of tongue and epiglottis (p < .05). Limited mouth opening was associated with suboptimal visualization. Neck circumference had the strongest influence on predicting TORS feasibility.
Conclusion:
Mandibular body height, hyoid-mental length, and neck circumference in conjunction with the degree of mouth opening may determine patient suitability for TORS. Clinical evaluation is essential to validate their collective usefulness.
