Transoral Endoscopic Head and Neck Surgery and Its Role Within the Multidisciplinary Treatment Paradigm of Oropharynx Cancer: Robotics, Lasers, and Clinical Trials

Abstract

Transoral endoscopic head and neck surgery is a new approach for the treatment of oropharyngeal tumors. Using either a robotic system and/or laser, surgeons gain access through the mouth via minimally invasive technique and thus have improved visualization of the tumors of the oropharynx, without disfiguring incisions. This transoral route of access minimizes long-term speech and swallowing dysfunction. Surgeons view this approach as a considerable technologic advance, analogous to the evolution in radiation therapy from conventional two- and three-dimensional conformal techniques to intensity-modulated techniques. Although the use of radiation with or without chemotherapy to treat oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) is supported by evidence from prospective clinical trials, there are no prospective data supporting the use of this new surgical approach for OPC. Here, we review the fundamentals of transoral endoscopic head and neck surgery, with robotics and laser technology, and discuss ongoing clinical trials for patients with OPC.