Saline‐aided ultrasound‐guided transoral biopsy of retropharyngeal nodes in head and neck cancer: A feasibility study of five patients

Abstract

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of the novel technique of intra-cavitary saline-aided ultrasound (US) guided transoral biopsy or excision of retropharyngeal nodes. METHODS: We followed the IDEAL 2a framework to develop this technique. Procedures were performed between July 2020 and July 2022 at a tertiary head and neck center. RESULTS: Five patients in total underwent an ultrasound-guided biopsy of a retropharyngeal node. They underwent seven procedures between them: three transoral robotic surgery (TORS) procedures, three fine needle aspirations (FNA) and/or core biopsy procedures, and one US assessment under general anesthetic. The six patients with histology taken (three TORS and three FNA/core biopsies) all had diagnostically adequate samples enabling appropriate treatment planning. There were no significant complications from the procedure. CONCLUSION: Saline-aided US-guided biopsy of a retropharyngeal node is a safe and useful tool enabling accurate tissue sampling and tumor excision and ongoing appropriate treatment planning.