Transoral robotic medial hypopharyngectomy: Surgical technique

Abstract

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.