New robotic head and neck cancer surgery preserves speech sans scarring

Doctors have developed an incisionless robotic surgical procedure that would allow patients to get certain head and neck cancer tumours removed without visible scarring, while preserving speech and the ability to eat.

Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit is one of the first in the US to perform TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) using the da Vinci Surgical System.

Unlike traditional surgical approaches to head and neck cancer, TORS patients are able to return to their normal lives only a few days after surgery without significant pain and disfigurement.

"TORS offers shorter post-operative recovery than standard open surgical approaches, giving patients the opportunity to quickly and successfully return to their normal lives," said Tamer A Ghanem of the Henry Ford Hospital.

"TORS allows surgeons to completely remove tumours of the head and neck while preserving speech, swallowing, and other key quality of life issues such as eating. There also is no visible scaring or disfigurement," he said.

The hospital has performed more than a dozen TORS procedures since the US Food and Drug Administration approved it in January.

"So far it has been used to remove malignant and benign tumours of the mouth, tongue, tonsils, and parts of the throat.
 
"Surgeons operate with greater precision and control using the TORS approach minimizing the pain, and reducing the risk of possible nerve and tissue damage associated with large incisions," said Ghanem.