[Indications and early experience with transoral robotic surgery].

Abstract

Recently, organ preservation has gained importance for head and neck malignancies. The negative consequences of the therapies can be reduced without compromising the survival and the quality of life. Accordingly, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is gaining ground internationally. We have been performing TORS procedures at the University of Pécs since January 2023. We operated on 27 patients until July 2024, including fifteen p16-positive tumors. Neck dissections were performed in 19 cases. The use of TORS is helpful in oropharyngeal cases, where inaccessible structures can be reached minimally invasively, compared to other transoral approaches. This is important for young patients with human papillomavirus-associated tumors, which have a better prognosis and longer life expectancy. TORS also has advantages over the previously used approaches for cancer of unknown primary (CUP). Compared to the standardly used FDG-PET/CT and "blindly" taken biopsies, TORS offers a higher detection rate of the primary tumor, by performing tonsillectomy and complete mucosectomy of the tongue base.