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Robotic Surgery in Head and Neck in Pediatric Population: Our Experience

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Indian Journal of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Robot assisted surgery of the head and neck is a relatively novel approach in the management of head and neck tumors. There are very few reported cases of robot-assisted surgery of the head and neck in pediatric population in the world literature and no report of such procedures in the Indian subcontinent. In this article we present three such cases we performed for the first time in the country. The first case is that of second branchial cleft cyst, the second is a 4-year-old boy with a tongue base cyst and the third patient is a 12-year-old girl with left parotid gland tumor. All the patients underwent successful Robotic surgeries. Case 1 underwent robotic excision of the cyst through a retroauricular hairline incision. Case 2 underwent transoral robotic excision of the tongue base cyst. Case 3 underwent robotic excision of the tumor through a modified facelift incision. The mean docking time for the robot was 12.33 min and approximate blood loss was less than 10 ml in all cases. The patient and their parents were extremely satisfied with the cosmetic outcomes of the scarless surgery. Robot assisted surgery has the advantage of performing minimally invasive procedures within constrained spaces especially in children. The multiarticulated endowrist movements of the robotic arms combined with higher magnification and three-dimensional depth perception allows a precise surgery with better visualization in otherwise inaccessible areas resulting in better surgical outcome. With exceptional advantages of scarless surgery, minimal blood loss and postoperative pain and better surgeon ergonomics, robotic technique is an effective and feasible option in Pediatric Head and neck Surgery.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Apollo Main Hospital, Room No. 25B Sindoori Block, Ground Floor, 21 Greams Lane, Off Greams Road, Chennai, 600006, India

    C. Venkatakarthikeyan & M. Gowrishankar

  2. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Apollo Main Hospital, C-304 Pawitra Apartments, Vasundhara Enclave, Delhi, 110096, India

    Swati Nair & Soorya Rao

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, Apollo Main Hospital, S2, Gopalakrishna Flats, No. 14/21, Lake View Road, West Mambalam, Chennai, 600033, India

    Soorya Rao

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  1. C. Venkatakarthikeyan
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  2. Swati Nair
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  3. M. Gowrishankar
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  4. Soorya Rao
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Correspondence to Swati Nair.

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All procedures performed in this study involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee.

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Venkatakarthikeyan, C., Nair, S., Gowrishankar, M. et al. Robotic Surgery in Head and Neck in Pediatric Population: Our Experience. Indian J Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg 72, 98–103 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-019-01768-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12070-019-01768-x

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