The new era of robotic neck surgery: The universal application of the retroauricular approach

Abstract

Recent advances in technology has triggered the introduction of surgical robotics in the field of head and neck surgery and changed the landscape indefinitely. The advent of transoral robotic surgery and robotic thyroidectomy techniques has urged the extended applications of the robot to other neck surgeries including remote access surgeries. Based on earlier reports and our surgical experiences, this review will discuss in detail various robotic head and neck surgeries via retroauricular approach.

Robot-Assisted Retroauricular Neck Surgery in Head and Neck Cancers

“…Contraindications include patients who have previously undergone radiotherapy and surgery, a requirement for bilateral neck dissection, and distant metastases [1,2].…”

“…However, these features are not absolute contraindications. The age and comorbidities of the patient are also important for patient selection, as RRAND is a long operation compared with conventional methods [1].…”

“…The drain is removed when the hemorrhage drops below 20 ml/day. The patient is discharged at the discretion of the surgeon, and the hospitalization period generally does not exceed 1 week [1].…”

“…However, traditional surgery of the neck leaves a large scar, which results in cosmetic dissatisfaction, especially in young and female patients [1]. Hypertrophic scarring or keloids formed in the incision area can be a source of dissatisfaction.…”

Robotic retroauricular thyroidectomy: initial experience from India

“…A widely acknowledged approach is the trans-axillary route. Robotic facelift or the retroauricular (RA) approach was initially reported by Terris and colleagues (6)(7)(8) and is popularized by Koh and his colleagues (9,10). The purpose of this paper is to review the early experiences with robotic RA thyroidectomy from India.…”