Transoral robotic surgery to resect skull base tumors via transpalatal and lateral pharyngeal approaches.

Methods: The da Vinci Robotic Surgical System (Si) was used for complete resection of four skull base tumors. Two pleomorphic adenomas in the parapharyngeal space, one pleomorphic adenoma in the infratemporal fossa and one metastatic papillary thyroid cancer node in the high retropharyneal nodal basin were resected. A transpalatal approach was used to access the infratemporal fossa (n=1) and retropharynx (n=1). Lateral pharyngotomies were performed to access parapharyngeal spaces (n=2). All mucosal incisions were closed primarily.