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February 9, 2010
FDA Clears New Robotic Surgery Technique
TransOral da Vinci surgery will improve treatment of throat and mouth cancers.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a new, minimally invasive surgical approach to treating throat and mouth tumors. The technique, which was developed by head and neck surgeons at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, utilizes the da Vinci robotic surgical system.
Approximately 350 patients with both malignant and benign tumors of the mouth, voice box, tonsil, tongue and other parts of the throat took part in a study of tge TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) technique beginning in 2005. The surgeons in charge of the study say robotic surgery using the mouth as an entrance point to the body results in significantly improved results.
"TORS has dramatically improved the way we treat head and neck cancer patients, completely removing tumors while preserving speech, swallowing, and other key quality of life issues," said Bert O'Malley, Jr., MD, professor and chairman of Penn Medicine's Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery.
45,000 Americans and approximately 500,000 people worldwide are diagnosed with head and neck cancers each year.
Head and neck tumor treatments often involve a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. In many cases, surgery offers the greatest chance of cure; yet conventional surgery may require an almost ear-to-ear incision across the throat or splitting the jaw, resulting in speech and swallowing deficits for patients.
In comparison, the minimally invasive TORS approach, which accesses the surgical site through the mouth, has been shown to improve long term swallowing function and reduce the risk of infection while speeding up recovery time. When compared to traditional surgeries, after their cancers have been removed successfully, patients have been able to begin swallowing on their own sooner and leave the hospital earlier. TORS outcomes are markedly improved when compared to standard chemotherapy, radiation or traditional open surgical approaches for oropharyngeal cancer.
(h/t VerticalNews)
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