Transoral, minimally
invasive organ preservation surgeries are being increasingly used for treatment
of laryngopharyngeal carcinomas to avoid the toxicities of combined
chemotherapy and radiation therapy regimens. A study by Ozer and colleagues
from Ohio Medical Center in Columbus investigated the efficacy, safety, and
functional outcomes of transoral tobotic surgery (TORS) supraglotic
laryngectomy.
The preliminary study examined the outcomes
of 13 of head and neck cancer patients with tumors located in the supraglottic
region which is the region of the throat between the base of the tongue and
just above the vocal cord. The study found that the use of robot-assisted
surgery to remove these tumors through the mouth took only about 25 minutes on
average, and that blood loss was minimal - a little more than three teaspoons,
or 15.4 milliliters, on average, per patient. No surgical complications were
encountered and 11 of the 13 patients could receive oral diet within 24 hours. If,
on the other hand, these tumors are removed by performing open surgery on the
neck, the operation can take at least 4 hours to perform, require 7 to 10 days
of hospitalization on average and require a tracheostomy tube and a stomach
tube.The results were published recently in the
journal Head and Neck. According
to the authors The transoral robotic method enables shorter surgery, less time
under anesthesia, a lower risk of complications and shorter hospital stays for
these patients and no external surgical incisions for the patient.
Transoral
robotic surgery
