Transoral robotic surgery: implementation as a tool in head and neck surgery – a single‐centre Australian experience

BackgroundTransoral robotic surgery (TORS) is now a well‐validated technique for resection of head and neck cancers. Benefits include reduced patient morbidity, swallowing preservation and rationalization of adjuvant therapies.MethodsThis was a single‐centre, retrospective review of 35 patients who underwent TORS of oro‐, retro‐ and parapharyngeal tumours between March 2014 and August 2015. Outcome measures included resection margins, swallowing function and impact on post‐operative radiotherapy.ResultsMedian age was 63.7 years and the number of male patients was 22 (62.9%). Tongue base was the most common site (51.4%), followed by tonsil (25.7%). Nine patients (25.7%) had previous radiotherapy. A total of 24 patients had squamous cell carcinoma and the clear margin rate for primary TORS was 93.3%. Median hospital stay was 5.5 days, longer for previously irradiated patients (9 days). Median nasogastric tube dependence was 3.5 days. Four patients (11.4%) received a gastrostomy and two patients remained dependent on the tube at the time of last review. There were two major complications (5.7%): bleeding requiring return to theatre (1) and pulmonary embolism (1). Post‐operative radiot