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First use of a new retractor in transoral robotic surgery (TORS)

  • Head and Neck
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European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has gained importance in head and neck surgery due to the possibility to visualize regions within the pharynx and larynx which are difficult to access. The success of transoral surgery depends on the exposure of the region of interest in order to allow visualization using a camera system. The Medrobotics Flex® Robotic System is a new flexible endoscopic system designed to overcome difficulties experienced in transoral surgery using other robotic systems with rigid endoscopes and instruments. In this article, we describe the first use of the Medrobotics Flex® Retractor in humans, a retractor designed for advanced transoral procedures. We report our experience in 11 patients requiring surgery of the oropharynx, hypopharynx, and supraglottic larynx. In all cases, we successfully exposed all targeted surgical regions. We experienced easy handling of the retractor alongside comparable positioning times and no observed mucosal damage.

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Medrobotics Corp. for their support. We thank Claudia Wacker for her assistance in photo documentation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, University of Duisburg-Essen, Hufelandstr. 55, 45147, Essen, Germany

    P. Hasskamp, S. Lang, L. Holtmann, B. A. Stuck & S. Mattheis

Authors
  1. P. Hasskamp
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  2. S. Lang
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  3. L. Holtmann
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  4. B. A. Stuck
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  5. S. Mattheis
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to P. Hasskamp.

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Conflict of interests

The Flex® Retractor and the Flex® System were provided to our institution by Medrobotics Corp., Raynham, MA, USA during a multi-center clinical follow-up trial of the Flex® Robotic System. Stefan Mattheis and Stephan Lang received travel allowance for training purposes from the Medrobotics Corp., Raynham, MA, USA.

Ethical approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Hasskamp, P., Lang, S., Holtmann, L. et al. First use of a new retractor in transoral robotic surgery (TORS). Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 273, 1913–1917 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-015-3719-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-015-3719-1

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