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Transoral robotic medial hypopharyngectomy: Surgical technique
John R Sims1, Nathaniel L Robinson1, Eric J Moore1
1Department of Otorhinolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota.
Background:
Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has been shown to be both feasible and oncologically sound for use in early T classification hypopharyngeal cancers. The purpose of this study was to present our surgical technique for performing a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy.
Methods:
A 48-year-old man with a T2, N2a, M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx underwent a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy and a left select neck dissection of levels II to IV.
Results:
The hypopharyngeal tumor was removed en bloc after circumferential cuts were made until the tumor was finally amputated from the apex of the piriform sinus. Negative margins were achieved. A left select neck dissection was performed. The patient was tolerating an oral diet and his tracheostomy tube was decannulated before discharge.
Conclusion:
TORS offers improved manual dexterity and tumor manipulation over conventional transoral approaches to hypopharyngeal cancers. It is both a feasible and effective method for certain early-stage hypopharyngeal cancers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: E2127-E2129, 2016.
