Search

Surgery has been utilized as an approach for organ preservation of the larynx since the late 19th century, decades prior to Madame Curie's discovery of radium. But with the discovery of radium the pendulum of surgical versus nonsurgical organ preservation has swung one way or the other over the course of the 20th century. New procedures were developed during the 20th century such as the supraglottic laryngectomy to improve local control and functional outcomes. Supracricoid laryngectomy is one such procedure and can be a valuable option to preserve phonation, respiration, and swallowing function while maintaining excellent local oncologic control. This chapter reviews indications, contraindications, and anatomic considerations. Operative techniques are reviewed in detail, and outcomes and potential complications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

IMPORTANCE: The utility of preoperative circulating tumor tissue-modified viral human papillomavirus DNA (TTMV-HPV DNA) levels in predicting human papillomavirus (HPV)–associated oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (HPV+ OPSCC) disease burden is unknown. OBJECTIVE: To determine if preoperative circulating tumor HPV DNA (ctHPVDNA) is associated with disease burden in patients with HPV+ OPSCC who have undergone transoral robotic surgery (TORS). DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This cross-sectional study comprised patients with HPV+ OPSCC who underwent primary TORS between September 2021 and April 2023 at one tertiary academic institution. Patients with treatment-naive HPV+ OPSCC (p16-positive) and preoperative ctHPVDNA levels were included, and those who underwent neck mass excision before ctHPVDNA collection were excluded. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: The main outcome was the association of increasing preoperative ctHPVDNA levels with tumor size and lymph node involvement in surgical pathology. The secondary outcome was the association between preoperative ctHPVDNA levels and adverse pathology, which included lymphovascular invasion, perineural invasion, or extranodal extension. RESULTS: A total of 70 patients were included in the study (65 men [93%]; mean [SD] age, 61 [8] years). Baseline ctHPVDNA levels ranged from 0 fragments/milliliter of plasma (frag/mL) to 49 452 frag/mL (median [IQR], 272 [30-811] frag/mL). Overall, 58 patients (83%) had positive results for ctHPVDNA, 1 (1.4%) had indeterminate results, and 11 (15.6%) had negative results. The sensitivity of detectable ctHPVDNA for identifying patients with pathology-confirmed HPV+ OPSCC was 84%. Twenty-seven patients (39%) had pathologic tumor (pT) staging of pT0 or pT1, 34 (49%) had pT2 staging, and 9 patients (13%) had pT3 or pT4 staging. No clinically meaningful difference between detectable and undetectable preoperative ctHPVDNA cohorts was found for tumor size or adverse pathology. Although the median preoperative ctHPVDNA appeared to be higher in pT2 through pT4 stages and pN1 or pN2 stages, effect sizes were small (pT stage: η2, 0.002 [95% CI, −1.188 to 0.827]; pN stage: η2, 0.043 [95% CI, −0.188 to 2.600]). Median preoperative log(TTMV-HPV DNA) was higher in active smokers (8.79 [95% CI, 3.55-5.76]), compared with never smokers (5.92 [95% CI, −0.97 to 1.81]) and former smokers (4.99 [95% CI, 0.92-6.23]). Regression analysis did not show an association between tumor dimension or metastatic lymph node deposit size and preoperative log(TTMV-HPV DNA). After univariate analysis, no association was found between higher log(TTMV-HPV DNA) levels and adverse pathology. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: In this cross-sectional study, preoperative ctHPVDNA levels were not associated with disease burden in patients with HPV+ OPSCC who underwent TORS.

IMPORTANCE: While early epidemiologic studies ascribed increases in the incidence of human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancers to middle-aged patients, recent analyses have demonstrated an increasing median age of diagnosis. Treatment of patients older than 70 years is controversial as their inclusion in the practice-defining clinical trials has been limited and the survival benefit conferred by chemotherapy may be outweighed by treatment toxic effects. OBJECTIVE: To assess the oncologic outcomes of older adults with human papillomavirus–associated oropharyngeal cancer who underwent upfront transoral robotic surgery and pathologic characteristics–guided adjuvant therapy in a large cohort of patients with close follow-up. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: A retrospective cohort analysis was conducted in a tertiary care academic medical center between January 1, 2010, and December 30, 2017. Patients aged 70 years or older at time of diagnosis with biopsy-proven and surgically resectable p16-positive oropharyngeal cancers were included. Data analysis was conducted from March 1 to June 1, 2020. EXPOSURES: Transoral robotic surgery oropharyngeal resection and neck dissection with pathologic characteristic-guided adjuvant therapy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Three-year estimates of disease-specific survival, overall survival, and disease-free survival, as well as rates of adjuvant therapy (radiotherapy and chemoradiotherapy) and perioperative complications. RESULTS: Seventy-seven patients were included (median age, 73.0; interquartile range, 71.0-76.0; range, 70-89 years); of these, 58 were men (75.3%). Perioperative mortality was 1.3% and the rate of oropharyngeal hemorrhage was 2.6%. Twenty-seven patients (35.1%) underwent postoperative radiotherapy and 20 patients (26.0%) underwent postoperative chemoradiotherapy. The median length of follow-up was 39.6 (range, 0.1-96.2) months, and the 3-year estimates of survival were 92.4% (95% CI, 82.4%-96.9%) for disease-specific survival, 90.0% (95% CI, 79.4%-95.0%) for overall survival, and 84.3% (95% CI, 73.4%-91.0%) for disease-free survival. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: The findings of this cohort study suggest that transoral robotic surgery and pathologic characteristic–guided adjuvant therapy can provide beneficial survival outcomes, infrequent perioperative mortality, and, for most carefully selected older adults, obviate the need for chemotherapy.

IMPORTANCE: Transoral endoscopic head and neck surgery now plays an important role in the multidisciplinary management of oropharyngeal carcinoma. Previous generations of robotic surgical systems used a multiport system with a rigid stereo-endoscope and 2 wristed instruments that facilitated transoral robotic surgery. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate a new single-port robotic surgical system in head and neck surgery prospectively through concurrent nonrandomized clinical trials. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Two prospective clinical trials were conducted from December 16, 2016, to December 26, 2017, to assess the safety, feasibility, and performance of a flexible single-port robotic surgical system in 4 institutions, including 3 in the United States and 1 in Hong Kong. A total of 47 patients with tumors of the oropharynx were enrolled and underwent surgery. All patients were classified as having American Society of Anesthesiologists class I to III status and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group status 0 to 1. An initial cohort of 7 patients underwent staging and endoscopic procedures for benign disease. The remaining 40 patients all had malignant tumors of the oropharynx. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Safety was measured by the incidence of device-related serious adverse events. Feasibility and performance were measured by the conversion rate from the use of the single-port robotic surgical system to either open surgery or the use of any other transoral technology required to complete the planned procedure. Secondary end points of swallowing function and surgical margins were also measured. RESULTS: All 47 patients (8 women and 39 men; mean [SD] age, 61 [8] years) safely underwent transoral resection with the single-port robotic surgical system without conversion to open surgery, laser surgery, or multiport robotic surgery. There were no intraoperative complications or device-related serious adverse events. Mean (SD) estimated intraoperative blood loss per procedure was 15.4 (23.9) mL; no patients received a transfusion. Two patients underwent a planned tracheotomy owing to medical comorbidity (previous chemoradiotherapy; obesity and severe sleep apnea). Two patients (4%) had grade III or IV postoperative hemorrhage, requiring a return to the operating room; however, both patients had medical comorbidities requiring the use of antithrombotic medication. The incidence of positive margins for patients with oropharyngeal malignancy was 3% (1 of 40). Within 30 days, 45 patients (96%) were eating by mouth and without the need for a percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tube. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: This study describes the results of phase 2 clinical testing of a next-generation, robotic surgical system using a single-port architecture. The use of the device appears to be feasible, safe, and effective for transoral robotic surgery of oropharyngeal tumors. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov identifiers: NCT03010813 and NCT03049280

This paper recounts research into the orientation and mobility experiences of people who are blind or visually impaired, and describes the novel sonic research method I developed for this purpose. “Participant Phonography,” as I call the method, aims to empower research participants with low or no vision through the self‐guided creation of sound recordings that represent their experiences of the world in a first‐person perspective. More broadly, the paper highlights the inadequate efforts of ethnographers in industry to tackle challenges of disability and reflects on the ethical challenges that face researchers who want to include disabled people in research. Inclusive methods like participant phonography have great potential to break down traditional power structures that have rendered non‐normative groups marginal in user research, but these methods also come with substantial barriers to their implementation in a corporate context.

IMPORTANCE: Management of cervical lymph node metastasis without a known primary tumor is a diagnostic and treatment challenge for head and neck oncologists. Identification of the occult mucosal primary tumor minimizes the morbidity of treatment. OBJECTIVE: To analyze the role of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) in facilitating the identification of a primary tumor site for patients presenting with squamous cell carcinoma of unknown primary (CUP). In addition, we assessed treatment deintensification by determining the number of patients who did not undergo definitive radiation therapy and chemotherapy. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In this retrospective case series from January 2011 to September 2015, 60 consecutive patients with squamous cell CUP who underwent TORS-assisted endoscopy and ipsilateral neck dissection were included from an academic medical center and studied to study the rate success rate of TORS identifying occult mucosal malignancy. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES: Success rate of identifying occult mucosal malignancy; usage of radiation therapy and chemotherapy. RESULTS: Overall, 60 patients (mean [SD] age, 55.5 [8.9] years) were identified; 48 of the 60 patients (80.0%) had a mucosal primary identified during their TORS-assisted endoscopic procedure. The mean (SD) size of the identified mucosal primary lesions was 1.3 (0.1) cm. All mucosal primaries, when found, originated in the oropharynx including the base of tongue in 28 patients (58%), palatine tonsil in 18 patients (38%), and glossotonsillar sulcus in 2 patients (4%). Among patients in this study, 40 (67%) did not receive chemotherapy, and 15 (25%) did not receive radiation therapy. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Advances in transoral surgical techniques have helped identify occult oropharyngeal malignancies that traditionally have been treated with comprehensive radiation to the entire pharyngeal axis. We demonstrate the efficacy of a TORS-assisted approach to identify and surgically treat the primary tumor in patients presenting with CUP. In addition, patients managed with the TORS-assisted endoscopic approach benefit from surgical and pathological triage, which in turn results in deintensification of treatment by eliminating the need for chemotherapy in the majority of patients, as well as avoiding radiation therapy in select patients.

IMPORTANCE Supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCPL) is an essential technique in the armamentarium of modern laryngeal organ preservation surgery. OBJECTIVE, DESIGN, SETTING Retrospective case series to review the oncologic outcomes following SCPL in a large US-based cohort treated by a single surgeon in a tertiary-care university hospital. PARTICIPANTS A total of 96 consecutive patients with primary or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the larynx undergoing SCPL from 1992 to 2010. INTERVENTIONS Supracricoid partial laryngectomy surgery. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Five-year local control and laryngeal preservation, using the Kaplan-Meier method. RESULTS There were 54 primary laryngeal carcinomas and 42 previously treated with radiation to the larynx; 23% were supraglottic or transglottic tumors (n = 22). The overall 5-year local control rate for the series was 94%. For T2 and T3 primary tumors, the 5-year local control was 100% and 96%, respectively. In patients previously treated with radiation, the 5-year local control was 89%, with an 89% laryngeal preservation rate. Among stage III or IV primary laryngeal tumors for which concurrent chemoradiation was a treatment alternative, the 5-year local and locoregional control was 96% and 83%, respectively, and the 5-year larynx preservation was 91%. Ultimate local control was achieved for all patients in the series. A significant postoperative complication occurred in 19% (n = 18) and 1 anesthesia-related perioperative death occurred. No total laryngectomies were performed for laryngeal dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE This series demonstrates excellent local control for both primary and recurrent laryngeal cancers, with functional larynx preservation. In appropriately staged and selected patients with T2 or T3 primary laryngeal cancer or laryngeal cancer following prior radiation treatment, SCPL should be considered as a treatment alternative to non-surgical treatment or total laryngectomy.

Parapharyngeal space (PPS) tumors can be divided anatomically into two major categories based upon location relative to the styloid process. Prestyloid masses are usually benign salivary gland tumors. Traditionally, these have been removed by transcervical, transparotid, or transmandibular approaches or a combination of these. While transoral removal of prestyloid masses is not a new concept, it has not been popular due to concerns about safety. The introduction of TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) has made removal of prestyloid tumors feasible in the majority of patients. Other parapharygeal space tumors can be removed transorally as well. The focus of this article is to describe the technical details of TORS removal of prestyloid parapharyngeal space masses. Careful preoperative assessment and attention to intraoperative technical details are the keys to safe surgery in this area. Very specific indications and contraindications exist for the procedure. Numerous advantages of this approach are detailed. Complications have been minor and very uncommon and easily managed using the techniques described herein. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

OBJECTIVE To evaluate local control following transoral robotic surgery (TORS) with the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical Inc) as a single treatment modality for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). DESIGN Prospective, single-center, observational study. SETTING Academic university health system and tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Thirty adults with previously untreated OSCC. INTERVENTION Transoral robotic surgery with staged neck dissection as indicated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Local control and margin status. RESULTS Thirty patients were enrolled with previously untreated OSCC and no prior head and neck radiation therapy. Follow-up duration was at least 18 months. At the time of diagnosis, 9 tumors were T1 (30%); 16 were T2 (53%); 4 were T3 (13%); and 1 was T4a (3%). The anatomic sites of these primary tumors were tonsil in 14 (47%), tongue base in 9 (30%), glossotonsillar sulcus in 3 (10%), soft palate in 3 (10%), and oropharyngeal wall in 1 (3%). There was only 1 patient (3%) who had a positive margin after primary resection; further resection achieved a final negative margin. Perineural invasion was noted in 3 tumors (10%). No patient received postoperative adjuvant therapy. At a mean follow-up of 2.7 years (range, 1.5-5.1 years), there was 1 patient with local failure (3%). CONCLUSION As the only modality used for treatment of pathologically low-risk OSCCs, TORS provides high local control and is associated with low surgical morbidity.

Curative eradication of all cells within carcinomas is seldom achievable with chemotherapy alone. This limitation may be partially attributable to tumor cell subpopulations with intrinsic resistance to current drugs. Within squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) cell lines, we previously characterized a subpopulation of mesenchymal-like cells displaying phenotypic plasticity and increased resistance to both cytotoxic and targeted agents. These mesenchymal-like (Ecad-lo) cells are separable from epithelial-like (Ecad-hi) cells based on loss of surface E-cadherin and expression of vimentin. Despite their long-term plasticity, both Ecad-lo and Ecad-hi subsets in short-term culture maintained nearly uniform phenotypes after purification. This stability allowed testing of segregated subpopulations for relative sensitivity to the cytotoxic agent cisplatin in comparison to salinomycin, a compound with reported activity against CD44+CD24- stem-like cells in breast carcinomas. Salinomycin showed comparable efficacy against both Ecad-hi and Ecad-lo cells in contrast to cisplatin, which selectively depleted Ecad-hi cells. An in vivo correlate of these mesenchymal-like Ecad-lo cells was identified by immunohistochemical detection of vimentin-positive malignant subsets across a part of direct tumor xenografts (DTXs) of advanced stage SCC patient samples. Cisplatin treatment of mice with established DTXs caused enrichment of vimentin-positive malignant cells in residual tumors, but salinomycin depleted the same subpopulation. These results demonstrate that mesenchymal-like SCC cells, which resist current chemotherapies, respond to a treatment strategy developed against a stem-like subset in breast carcinoma. Further, they provide evidence of mesenchymal-like subsets being well-represented across advanced stage SCCs, suggesting that intrinsic drug resistance in this subpopulation has high clinical relevance.

OBJECTIVES To determine the oncologic and functional outcomes in patients undergoing primary transoral robotic surgery followed by adjuvant therapy as indicated with a minimum of 18-month follow-up for advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma. DESIGN Prospective single-center cohort study. SETTING Academic university health system and tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Forty-seven adults with newly diagnosed and previously untreated advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma. INTERVENTION Transoral robotic surgery with staged neck dissection and adjuvant therapy as indicated. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Margin status, recurrence, disease-specific and disease-free survival, gastrostomy tube dependence, and safety and efficacy end points. RESULTS In the 47 patients enrolled with stages III and IV advanced oropharyngeal carcinoma, mean follow-up was 26.6 months. There was no intraoperative or postoperative mortality. Resection margins were positive in 1 patient (2%). At last follow-up, local recurrence was identified in 1 patient (2%), regional recurrence in 2 (4%), and distant recurrence in 4 (9%). Disease-specific survival was 98% (45 of 46 patients) at 1 year and 90% (27 of 30 patients) at 2 years. Based on pathologic risk stratification, 18 of 47 patients (38%) avoided chemotherapy, and 5 patients (11%) did not receive adjuvant radiotherapy and concurrent chemotherapy in their treatment regimen. At minimum follow-up of 1 year, only 1 patient required a gastrostomy tube. CONCLUSIONS This novel transoral robotic surgery treatment regimen offers disease control, survival, and safety commensurate with standard treatments and an unexpected beneficial outcome of gastrostomy dependency rates that are markedly lower than those reported with standard nonsurgical therapies.Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2010;136(11):1079-1085--

The Cub and Sushi Multiple Domains-1 (CSMD1) is a tumor suppressor gene on 8p23.2, where allelic loss is both frequent and associated with poor prognosis in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). To understand the extent of CSMD1 aberrations in vivo, we characterized 184 primary tumors from the head and neck, lung, breast, and skin for gene copy number and analyzed expression in our HNSCCs and lung squamous cell carcinomas (SCCs). We detected loss of CSMD1 in a large proportion of HNSCCs (50%), lung (46%) and breast cancers (55%), and to a lesser extent in cutaneous SCCs (29%) and basal cell carcinomas (BCCs, 17%) using array-based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH). Studying the region more closely with quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), the loss of CSMD1 increased to 80% in HNSCCs and 93% in lung SCCs. CSMD1 expression was decreased in tumors compared to adjacent benign tissue (65%, 13/20) and was likely due to gene loss in 45% of cases (9/20). We also identified truncated transcripts lacking exons due to DNA copy number loss (30%, 5/17) or aberrant splicing (24%, 4/17). We show loss of CSMD1 in primary HNSCC tissues, and document for the first time that CSMD1 is lost in breast, lung and cutaneous SCCs. We also show that deletions of CSMD1 and aberrant splicing contribute to altered CSMD1 function in vivo.

Head and neck surgical science has developed dramatically during the past 20 years with a major focus on organ preservation surgery. Among these organ preserving surgeries are the selective neck dissections, supracricoid partial laryngectomies, transoral laser surgeries, and now a newcomer, transoral robotic surgery utilizing the da Vinci surgical system. Transoral robotic surgery is in its infancy, but, indeed, there have been some questions raised about the role of these innovative robotic surgical techniques.

Objectives: To determine whether 2 different methods of post-operative head and neck free flap monitoring affect flap failure and complication rates.Methods: A retrospective chart review of 803 free flaps performed for head and neck reconstruction by the same microvascular surgeon between July 2013 and July 2020 at 2 separate hospitals within the same healthcare system. Four-hundred ten free flaps (51%) were performed at Hospital A, a medical center where flap checks were performed at frequent, scheduled intervals by in-house resident physicians and nurses; 393 free flaps (49%) were performed at Hospital B, a medical center where flap checks were performed regularly by nursing staff with resident physician evaluation as needed. Total free flap failure, partial free flap failure, and complications (consisting of wound infection, fistula, and reoperation within 1 month) were assessed.Results: There were no significant differences between Hospitals A and B when comparing rates of total free flap failure, partial free flap failure, complication, or re-operation (P= .27, P= .66, P= .65, P= .29, respectively). There were no significant differences in urgent re-operation rates for flap compromise secondary to thrombosis and hematoma (P= .54).Conclusions: In our series, free flap outcomes did not vary based on the degree of flap monitoring by resident physicians. This data supports the ability of a high-volume, well-trained, nursing-led flap monitoring program to detect flap compromise in an efficient fashion while limiting resident physician obligations in the age of resident duty hour restrictions.

OBJECTIVE To describe and show the feasibility of a new surgical technique for transoral robotic surgery (TORS) radical tonsillectomy. DESIGN A prospective, phase 1 clinical trial. SETTING Academic, tertiary referral center. PATIENTS A total of 27 participants were prospectively selected using a volunteer sample. All eligible patients agreed to participate in the study. INTERVENTIONS Patients underwent TORS radical tonsillectomy for previously untreated invasive squamous cell carcinoma of the tonsillar region without free-flap reconstruction, staged neck dissection, and adjuvant therapy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Outcome measures included final pathologic margin status, need for short- and long-term tracheotomy tube placement, and need for gastrostomy tube feedings among patients with a minimum 6-month follow-up. The incidence of significant postoperative complications was recorded. RESULTS No mortality occurred. Final margins found to be negative for cancer were achieved in 25 of 27 patients (93%). Surgical complications included 1 case each of postoperative mucosal bleeding, delirium tremens, unplanned tracheotomy for temporary exacerbation of sleep apnea, and hypernasality and 2 cases of moderate trismus. Twenty-six of 27 patients (96%) were swallowing without the use of a gastrostomy. CONCLUSIONS Radical tonsillectomy using TORS is a new technique that offers excellent access for resection of carcinomas of the tonsil with acceptable acute morbidity. Future reports will focus on long-term oncologic and functional outcomes.Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007;133(12):1220-1226 --

OBJECTIVE To develop a minimally invasive surgical technique for the treatment of parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa skull base neoplasms using the technical and optical advantages of robotic surgical instrumentation. DESIGN A robotics skull base surgery program at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, was initiated in the fall of 2005. Six experimental procedures focusing on developing approaches to the parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa were performed on a total of 2 cadavers and 1 mongrel dog. Based on the preclinical work, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) was then performed in February 2007 on 1 human patient with a parapharyngeal to infratemporal fossa cystic neoplasm as part of a large prospective human trial. SETTING In each cadaver and in the dog, a TORS approach to parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa was performed bilaterally and in an approved training facility using the da Vinci Surgical System. For the human surgical case, a TORS approach was evaluated on one side for a benign neoplasm. The human patient underwent TORS of the parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa under an institutional review board–approved prospective clinical trial. PATIENTS For the human clinical trial, a TORS approach was evaluated for a patient with a benign neoplasm of the parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES The ability to access and dissect tissues within the various areas of the parapharynx and infratemporal fossa was evaluated, and techniques to enhance visualization and instrumentation were developed. RESULTS Using TORS approaches permitted excellent access, visualization, and tissue dissection within the parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa in both the cadaver and canine experiments. In the first known human surgical case, TORS was used to remove a parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa cystic neoplasm. Wide visualization, followed by complete resection using the identical techniques developed in the preclinical models, was achieved. The robotic procedure allowed adequate and safe identification of the internal carotid artery and cranial nerves, and excellent hemostasis was achieved with no complications during or after surgery. CONCLUSIONS The TORS approaches provided excellent 3-dimensional visualization and instrument access that allowed successful parapharyngeal space and infratemporal fossa surgical resections from cadaver models to the first known human patient application. Robotic surgery for the skull base holds potential as a minimally invasive approach to skull base neoplasms; however, continued development and investigation is warranted in a prospective human clinical trial before final conclusions can be drawn as to the full advantages and limitations of this approach.Arch Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg. 2007;133(12):1215-1219 --

Objectives:We assessed the feasibility of performing transoral supraglottic partial laryngectomy with robotic instrumentation.Methods:Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) was performed on 3 human patients with supraglottic carcinoma in a prospective human trial. The study was approved by our institutional review board and involved the da Vinci Surgical Robot (Intuitive Surgical, Inc, Sunnyvale, California).Results:All procedures were completed robotically. The median overall operation time to perform the robotic procedure was 120 minutes (range, 1:32:48 to 2:58:18), including 18 minutes (range, 00:6:07 to 00:30:39) for exposure and robotic positioning. There were no intraoperative or postoperative complications or surgical mortality.Conclusions:The preliminary results of our series suggest that application of the da Vinci robotic surgical system for TORS to supraglottic partial laryngectomy is technically feasible and relatively safe. Furthermore, TORS provides excellent surgical exposure that allows complete tumor resection. Most importantly, TORS provides an alternative to open approaches and “conventional” transoral supraglottic partial laryngectomy.

Objective:To develop a minimally invasive surgical technique for the treatment of base of tongue neoplasms using the optical and technical advantages of robotic surgical instrumentation.

Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the subglottis is infrequently reported in the literature. This tumor subtype is more commonly associated with the major and minor salivary glands. Mucoepidermoid carcinoma of the larynx can be difficult to diagnose, and there is no consensus as to appropriate management. We report a case of a low-grade mucoepidermoid carcinoma that was confined to the subglottis and treated with organ-preservation surgery. A conservative surgical approach was taken because of the tumor's low-grade histology and its location and in order to preserve the patient's laryngeal function. At follow-up 15 months postoperatively, the patient remained disease-free, and laryngeal function was intact.

Objectives:Array‐based comparative genomic hybridization (aCGH) was used to develop a genome‐wide molecular profile of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC). Copy number alterations (CNAs) were identified by chromosomal region, mapped to specific genes, and compared with several previously documented CNAs associated with head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). The status of 512 commonly altered cancer genes was assessed and evaluated as potential correlates of tumor behavior.

Introduction:Robotic technology has been safely integrated into thoracic and abdominopelvic surgery, and the early experience has been very promising with very rare complications related to robotic device failure. Recently, several reports have documented the technical feasibility of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) with the daVinci Surgical System. Proposed pharyngeal and laryngeal applications include radical tonsillectomy, base‐of‐tongue resection, supraglottic laryngectomy, and phonomicrosurgery. The safety of transoral placement of the robotic endoscope and instruments has not been established. Potential risks specific to the transoral use of the surgical robot include facial skin laceration, tooth injury, mucosal laceration, mandible fracture, cervical spine fracture, and ocular injury. We hypothesize that these particular risks of transoral surgery are similar with robotic assistance compared with conventional transoral surgery.

Objective:This study examines preoperative clinical and intraoperative histopathologic characteristics that can be used to predict thyroid gland invasion in the setting of squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the glottis.

Objectives/Hypothesis:To develop a technique for computer enhanced robotic transoral supraglottic partial laryngectomy in the canine model.

Objectives/Hypothesis:To prove that the tympanomastoid suture (TMS) is a significantly closer and less variable anatomic landmark to the facial nerve than the posterior‐superior margin of the posterior belly of the digastric muscle (PBD) in parotid surgery.

Objectives/Hypothesis:The study examined preoperative clinical characteristics that can be used to predict secure inferior margins of glottic squamous cell carcinoma extending toward the cricoid cartilage when performing organ preservation surgery of the larynx.

AbstractBackground: The last decade has seen a tremendous growth in the field of robotic surgery with an increasing number of cardiac and urologic procedures performed each year. Several attributes of this technology may offer advantages to laryngeal and pharyngeal surgery in that it allows for exceptional visualization of the operative field, precise handling of soft tissues, and multiplanar transection of tissues. One potential limitation is the management of bleeding in transoral pharyngeal and laryngeal surgery, which is critical to prevent both intravascular volume loss and aspiration. Objectives: To demonstrate methods for management of bleeding in the surgical field during transoral robotic surgery (TORS). Methods: We developed a canine robotic surgery model for the evaluation of the ability to control bleeding in laryngeal and pharyngeal procedures using the daVinci® surgical robot (Intuitive Surgical, Inc., Sunnyvale, Calif., USA). Both large- and small-vessel hemostasis was obtained with both robotically controlled monopolar and bipolar cautery and with robotically controlled small hemoclips. Additionally, manually controlled large hemoclips were applied by an assistant surgeon viewing on a video monitor for management of large arterial vessels. Suction was performed with both flexible suction catheters controlled by the robotic arms and with manually controlled conventional suction catheters. Data were collected with still and video photography. Results: The lingual artery as well as small arteries and veins were easily controlled and there were no difficulties with maintenance of hemostasis. Conclusions: Effective hemostasis with control of both large and small vessels can be obtained using both surgical hemoclips and electrocautery during TORS in a canine model.Copyright © 2005 S. Karger AG, Basel

ObjectiveTo determine the rate of cerebrovascular events (stroke) in patients irradiated to high doses for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

Background: Liposomal cisplatinpreparations have two potential advantagesover the free drug when combined withradiation therapy (RT): 1) selective tumorlocalization, improving the therapeuticratio, and 2) prolonged half-life, allowingmore radiosensitization. We performed aPhase I study of Stealth® liposomalcisplatin (SPI-077) concurrent with RT forhead and neck squamous cell carcinoma(HNSCC). Methods: Patients with StageIVa/b HNSCC were treated with SPI-077,given intravenously twice two weeks apart,concurrent with RT (60–72 Gy in 6–7 weeks).The SPI-077 dose was escalated in standardphase I design. Results: Twenty patientsreceived 38 doses of SPI-077, escalatedfrom 20–200 mg/m2in six dose levels.Two of these patients received one dosebecause of reversible Grade 3 livertoxicity or rash. Three patients had aGrade 1, and one had a Grade 2 infusionreaction. Four patients had transientlyelevated transaminases: Grade 1 (n = 1),Grade 2 (n = 1), and Grade 3 (n = 2). Grade 3neutropenia occurred in one patient. Therewas no ototoxicity, neurotoxicity, ornephrotoxicity. In-field radiation skin andmucosal toxicities did not appear to beintensified. Ten of 17 patients (59%)finishing treatment achieved initialcomplete response. Conclusions: Systemic andin-field radiation toxicities of SPI-077were minimal. Infusion reactions wereminimized with a slower and more diluteinitial infusion. Further dose escalationwas stopped in the absence of dose-limitingtoxicity to address the reformulation ofthe liposomally bound cisplatin.Nonetheless, this study shows that highdoses of SPI-077 can be given safely. Thepotentially beneficial therapeutic ratiosuggests that liposomal radiosensitizerpreparations warrant furtherinvestigation.