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Robotic surgery in ear nose and throat

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Abstract

The arrival of a commercial surgical robotic platform at our institution has raised the question of its application and usefulness within the department of otolaryngology head and neck surgery. In order to answer this question, we sought to perform a qualitative review to examine the evolution of commercial surgical robotics and examine present and future applications of this emerging technology within our specialty. The main objective of this study is to examine the development and application of robotic surgery in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery. The study includes a qualitative systematic review. We have reviewed research papers and studies that specifically relate to the use of robots in otorhinolaryngology. More specifically, we have attempted to review those studies that have significantly added to the development of this field. In summary, we have examined eight animal studies, six cadaveric studies, nine human trials. Robotic surgery in ENT is a safe and feasible option. In certain procedures, it offers significant benefits over conventional surgery. Instrument and robotic arm size, and costs are limiting factors that prevent the use of robots being applied to many additional ENT procedures. We feel the development of new speciality-specific robots will yield a new era in the common use of robotics in ENT.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Southmead Hospital, Bristol, BS10 5NB, UK

    Amit Parmar, David G. Grant & Peter Loizou

Authors
  1. Amit Parmar
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  2. David G. Grant
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  3. Peter Loizou
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Amit Parmar.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 1 and 2

Table 1 Results from PubMed and Medline searches
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Table 2 Time line of surgical robotic development
Full size table

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Parmar, A., Grant, D.G. & Loizou, P. Robotic surgery in ear nose and throat. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 267, 625–633 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-1022-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-009-1022-8

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