THANC Hospital (The Head And Neck Centre & Hospital), Poonamallee High Road, adds another accomplishment to its record through the successful completion of trans oral robotic surgery assisted total laryngectomy (TORS-TL), using the pioneering Da Vinci Robotic Surgery system developed by Intuitive Surgical, California, USA.
The surgery was performed on the patient, a 48-year-old gentleman with a history of recurrent voice box cancer, on June 17, 2022, at CURI Hospital by a team from THANC Hospital. The team was led by Dr Vidhyadharan Sivakumar and comprised of head and neck specialists Dr Sriprakash D, Dr Sudha A, Dr Adhavan E, Dr Vijaykumar S and Dr Mukundan S; anaesthetists Dr Vasanthi V, Dr Yousuf Bilal, Dr Naveen and Dr Avinash; head and neck nurses and technicians: Jacqulin , Sangeetha, Abinaya, Inba, Saravanan and Kingslin; and Robotic Urology surgeons Dr Ananthkrishnan Sivaraman and Dr Manoj Tummala.
The TORS-TL approach significantly improves all aspects of the complicated salvage total laryngectomy procedure and creates better outcomes. It is a minimally invasive approach that requires limited open incisions and less dissection on a previously irradiated neck and throat region, as will be the case for many cancer patients. It has significant benefits over the traditional non-robotic or transoral (“through the mouth”) approach, which requires extensive dissection in a complex anatomical region. This often results in potential damage to sensitive tissues and scarring, fistulas, saliva leaking, neck swelling and other problems; and is correlated with inhibited quality of life or higher morbidity rates. TORS-TL in selected patients, is considered a relatively safer and highly feasible procedure that reduces or eliminates many of these problems and has also shown good morbidity and mortality outcomes. Patients have demonstrated expedited post-operative recovery in terms of swallowing and voice function as well.
Speaking on the procedure, Dr Vidhyadharan Sivakumar, Director of THANC Hospital and Consultant Head & Neck Surgeon, says, “At THANC Hospital, we believe that advanced technology combined with medical expertise leads to extraordinary outcomes. We are proud to bring the Da Vinci Robotic Surgery System to our patients, and the success of this complicated case has been heartening for us. As with every procedure, we discussed all aspects with the patient and his family and obtained informed consent from them. We are glad to share this experience with others in order to assure patients about the advantages of robotic surgery.”
Previously, Dr Vidhyadharan’s team had also successfully performed a robotic procedure on an octogenarian who is hard of hearing, who had a tumour in his voice box. That patient also experienced a complete recovery, and was free of tube dependency for breathing and feeding and discharged within five days of the procedure. The hospital hopes that the Da Vinci Robotic Surgery System will become the preferred choice for patients experiencing similar ailments, and the team are fully equipped to administer the same.