Novel Strategies for Managing Retropharyngeal Lymph Node Metastases in Head and Neck and Thyroid Cancer with Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS)

Swallowing Dysfunction and its Impact on Patients Undergoing Oncological Treatment

“…The probability of late and acute dysphagia is predicted by the T and N stage, the main location, the kind of treatment, "the extent of the treated region, and patient characteristics (baseline swallowing function, performance status [1], smoking and alcohol misuse, age, lean mass, and gender). All forms of therapy, including CRT, surgery and organ sparing protocols, cause aspiration and swallowing issues" [9].…”

“…Dysphagia frequently results from structural, iatrogenic, neuromuscular, and neurological dysfunction. Dysphagia must not be disregarded because it can significantly lower the quality of life (QoL) [1]. As a result of poor swallowing, dehydration, malnutrition, and also aspiration pneumonia may ensue.…”

Saline‐aided ultrasound‐guided transoral biopsy of retropharyngeal nodes in head and neck cancer: A feasibility study of five patients

“…Open surgical excision historically has been via transcervical, transparotid, or transmandibular approaches which provide excellent exposure. However, these procedures have significant morbidity, prompting growing interest with transoral approaches, including transoral robotic surgery TORS 3 …”

“…However, these procedures have significant morbidity, prompting growing interest with transoral approaches, including transoral robotic surgery TORS. 3 Intraoperative localization of a node may be difficult due to the mobility of the lump, patient positioning with head extension, and protraction of the tongue and mouth opening. Unpredictable migration of the nodal target can result in anatomical discordance between preoperative cross-sectional imaging (obtained in a neutral position) and "on table" intraoperative findings.…”

Evaluating the role of the self-assembling topical haemostat PuraBond® in Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) for oropharyngeal cancer: A case series

“…The subsequent emergence of TORS swung the pendulum back towards surgery. TORS constitutes a viable primary treatment option, especially in the case of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) positive early-stage oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) where it has been shown to offer equivalent or superior oncological and functional outcomes (compared to CRT) in a variety of studies [ [5] , [6] , [7] , [8] , [9] , [10] ]. At the same time, as with all surgical procedures, TORS is not without risk.…”