Taro Sugimoto

Papers

Total Citations

H-Index

About

Taro Sugimoto is a pioneering surgeon-researcher whose work centers on advancing transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for hypopharyngeal cancer—a region notoriously difficult to access with conventional rigid instruments. His major contributions lie in the preclinical evaluation of flexible, next-generation robotic surgical systems, demonstrating their superior maneuverability and precision compared to traditional rigid platforms. In his landmark 2017 study, cited 39 times, he showed that a flexible robotic system could safely and effectively perform transoral endoscopic hypopharyngectomy in cadaveric models, opening new avenues for minimally invasive treatment of hypopharyngeal tumors. Building on this, his 2019 work (7 citations) introduced a curved laryngopharyngoscope combined with the flexible robotic system, further improving access to the hypopharynx and expanding the indications for TORS. These studies are foundational in shifting the paradigm from rigid to flexible robotics in head and neck surgery. Sugimoto’s research has directly influenced the design of next-generation surgical platforms and has been instrumental in reducing the invasiveness of hypopharyngeal cancer surgery, potentially improving patient outcomes and recovery. His work is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of robotic head and neck surgery.