Transoral robotic-assisted surgery (TORS) is available for some conditions of the head and neck, including select cancers. During TORS, surgeons at The George Washington University Hospital operate through the patient’s mouth instead of long incision through the throat and jaw. This allows for faster recovery, shorter hospital stay and better functional preservation of swallowing and voice, when compared to traditional open surgery. It also prevents the need for a tracheostomy (surgical opening in the windpipe or trachea) in most cases.
Conditions being treated with transoral robotic-assisted surgery include:
- Base of tongue and tonsil cancers
- Laryngeal supraglottic cancer
- Pharyngeal cancer
- Select parapharyngeal/skull base tumors
- Select sleep apnea patients when removal of base of tongue is needed.
- Select thyroid goiter when it extends into the mediastinum