The article presented by Bhayani, Holsinger, and Lai thoroughly evaluates the emergence of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) as a technique in the field of otolaryngology. Transoral approaches to the upper aerodigestive tract, whether for diagnostic or therapeutic purposes, represent core tenets of the discipline and formed one of the bases for the inception of the specialty. Innovations and ref...

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of minimally invasive transoral en bloc resection of superficial pharyngeal and laryngeal cancers. METHODS Forty-one superficial lesions (from 35 patients) were resected transorally under a surgical microscope using a monopolar cautery. Quality of life (QOL) was assessed using a questionnaire European Organization ...

BACKGROUND Complications of nonunited Type II odontoid fractures can range from neck pain to progressive neurological deficit from cervical myelopathy. Rarely, the hypertrophic nonunion requires both anterior transoral decompression and posterior decompression with instrumented fusion. We present a case and review literature around this entity. CASE DESCRIPTION A 68-year-old female presented ...

BACKGROUND The purpose of this study was to evaluate the use of transoral nasopharyngeal brush biopsies and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) DNA detection system in surveillance of local recurrence of nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). METHODS A prospective cohort study was performed to compare the nasopharyngeal epithelial EBV DNA levels of patients with re...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS The objective of this prospective study was to confirm the validity of transoral robotic supraglottic partial laryngectomy as a conservation surgery for treating supraglottic cancer. STUDY DESIGN Prospective case study. METHODS Between December 2009 and November 2011, 16 patients were enrolled in this study. Acoustic waveform analysis was conducted and Voice Handicap I...

Objectives: Objective and subjective evaluation of botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNTA) treatment for adductor type spasmodic dysphonia is presented. Therefore, a combinatorial approach based on patients’ and speech experts’ assessment of voice impairment, as well as on the acoustic analysis of spoken standardized text was performed. Study design: Prospective clinical study. Materials and methods: Fo...

OBJECTIVE The KTP laser has become commonplace in transoral head and neck surgery. The interactions of this laser with commonly used supplies in transoral surgery have not been formally examined. This study evaluates the effects of the KTP laser on surgical supplies. STUDY DESIGN Experimental study. SETTING The study was conducted in an empty operating room at a university-affiliated medica...

Surgical treatment of laryngeal cancer has been established for decades. In addition to total laryngectomy, which was first performed in 1873, a large number or organ preservation surgical techniques, like open partial laryngectomy, transoral laser microsurgery, and transoral robotic surgery have been developed. Studies on laryngeal cancer surgery are mainly retrospective case series and cohort...

In recent years, surgical treatment of laryngeal cancer has evolved towards transoral resections. Transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) combines microscopic control with the precise cutting and coagulation capability that laser equipment has, making it possible to remove laryngeal tumours by the transoral approach, with very good oncological and functional outcomes. In early tumours, local control...

UNLABELLED Recently, a transoral robotic-assisted technique to access the thyroid gland has been introduced. Despite the advantages this approach may have over other minimally invasive and robotic-assisted techniques, we found that the placement of the camera through the floor of mouth led to restricted freedom of movement. We describe our modification to this technique to overcome this problem...