Endoscopic Transoral Surgery of the Tongue Base

Abstract

Objectives: To determine the efficacy and incidence of complications in tumors and in other diseases involving the tongue base treated by transoral surgery with the assistance of endoscopes. Methods:Patients treated for pathologies that compromised the tongue base using a transoral approach with the assistance of endoscopes in the head and neck section of the Otorhinolaryngology service of the Hospital Italiano de Buenos Aires between March 2005 and April 2019 were selected.Central glossectomies and hemiglosectomies were performed with this technique, and through a ventral approach to the tongue, epidermal cysts that compromised the entire extension of the tongue were removed.Results: Three malignant tumors, one lingual thyroid, two epidermal cysts and a central resection of the tongue in a Down patient with severe sleep apnea were performed.In malignant tumors the resections were complete with free margins, and in the others the region could be exposed very well and the pathologies resolved. Conclusion:The use of endoscopes to perform transoral resections of tumors and other pathologies that compromised the tongue base allowed a good exposure of the posterior region of the tongue to the lingual aspect of the epiglottis and made it possible to perform complete resections or perform surgery according to preoperative planning without complications.