Robotic-assisted oropharyngeal reconstruction

The development of robotic surgery has brought new levels of precision and control to minimally invasive surgical techniques. Its effectiveness, well established in urologic and gynecologic surgery applications, has also been demonstrated in cardiac, endocrine and general surgery. Recently, trans-oral robotic approaches to oropharyngeal tumor resection have been reported and, by eliminating the need for morbid lip and mandible splitting approaches, trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS) has allowed a re-assessment of surgical options for early stage tumors which have until recently been treated primarily with chemoradiation. The application of the TORS approach to malignant and non-malignant conditions affecting the oropharynx has created the need to develop robotic-assisted methods of managing the resultant tissue defects and to assess and compare the effectiveness of these procedures. This report details our early experience with the use of robotic surgery for management of soft tissue defects of the oropharynx in 12 patients.