Functional outcomes, feasibility, and safety of resection of transoral robotic surgery: single-institution series of 35 consecutive cases of transoral robotic surgery for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract

Background: This is a single-institution prospective study in a tertiary care center to evaluate feasibility, completeness of resection, and functional outcomes for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) treated primarily with transoral robotic-assisted resection.

Methods: Thirty-five patients with T1 and T2 squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx were included. They underwent transoral robotic surgery (TORS) between September 2011 and April 2013, with a median follow-up time of 13 months.

Results: Main outcome measures were completeness of resection, disease-free survival, and cancer recurrence for the preliminary oncologic outcome; postoperative bleeding, number of days intubated, rate of elective tracheotomy, duration of intensive care and/or intermediate care, speech and swallowing function, and length of nasogastric and/or gastrostomy tube dependency for the functional results.

Conclusion: Our 1-year (median) functional and early oncologic results of 35 patients with oropharyngeal cancer treated primarily with TORS are encouraging to continue gaining further experiences with this surgical modality on a select subgroup of patients.

Keywords: adjuvant therapy; human papillomavirus (HPV); oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC); transoral robotic surgery (TORS); treatment-related morbidity.