Transoral robotic medial hypopharyngectomy: Surgical technique

Background Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has been shown to be both feasible and oncologically sound for use in early T classification hypopharyngeal cancers. The purpose of this study was to present our surgical technique for performing a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy. Methods A 48-year-old man with a T2, N2a, M0 squamous cell carcinoma of the hypopharynx underwent a transoral robotic hypopharyngectomy and a left select neck dissection of levels II to IV. Results The hypopharyngeal tumor was removed en bloc after circumferential cuts were made until the tumor was finally amputated from the apex of the piriform sinus. Negative margins were achieved. A left select neck dissection was performed. The patient was tolerating an oral diet and his tracheostomy tube was decannulated before discharge. Conclusion TORS offers improved manual dexterity and tumor manipulation over conventional transoral approaches to hypopharyngeal cancers. It is both a feasible and effective method for certain early-stage hypopharyngeal cancers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2015