Intraoperative Image Guidance in Transoral Robotic Surgery – A Pilot Study

摘要

Background: Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has several applications in the surgical management of oropharyngeal cancers and in selected laryngeal, hypopharyngeal, parapharyngeal and nasopharyngeal lesions. However, successful oncologic resection may be impaired by tumour proximity to critical vascular structures and difficulty identifying tumour boundaries. These limitations may result in potentially catastrophic haemorrhage and inadequate resection. Image guidance, typically used for skull base surgery, can provide improved surgeon comfort with vascular anatomy and imaging corroboration of endoscopic visualization. However, alterations in anatomy with intraoperative jaw positioning compromise accuracy of registration. We aim to develop an intraoperative image guidance system for use with TORS.