TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) is the world's first group of minimally invasive robotic surgery techniques that enable Penn surgeons to remove benign and malignant tumors of the mouth and throat.
Bert W. O'Malley, Jr., MD, and Gregory S. Weinstein, MD, developed and perfected TORS. They have performed more TORS procedures than any other physicians in the world.
Today, TORS at Penn Medicine is a world-class surgical program comprised of leading surgeons, anesthesiologists, nurses, and clinicians dedicated to providing superior patient outcomes through the use of robotic-assisted technology. The program benefits patients seeking state-of-the-art care, but also educates physicians who come from around the world to observe and learn about this groundbreaking procedure.
Along with performing all of the original research, Penn Medicine was the first medical center in the world to offer TORS in 2005.
TORS is an exceptional example of how Penn surgeons have taken a clinical breakthrough from "bench to bedside," providing patients with the best possible care.
Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) Research & Clinical Trials
TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2009 based on research and clinical trials performed at Penn Medicine.
Since 2005, more than 400 patients at Penn have participated in the world's first clinical trials of TORS. These research trials represent the largest and most comprehensive studies of the technology on record.
Studies have shown TORS dramatically improves the way that head and neck cancer patients are treated by completely removing tumors while preserving speech swallowing and other key quality-of-life issues.
The procedure is so successful that TORS is becoming the new standard of care in the field of mouth and throat cancer.
Clinical Trials for Sleep Apnea
New studies at Penn Medicine are investigating TORS as a treatment for patients with sleep apnea in which a large tongue base contributes to obstruction of the airway.
This surgery is the first of its kind in the region and is being developed by the same pioneering team that invented and developed TORS for tumors of the head and neck.
Learn more about clinical trials for TORS to treat sleep apnea
What is TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS)?
TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) uses a state-of-the-art da Vinci® Surgical System allowing head and neck surgeons at Penn access to areas of the throat that are difficult to reach with traditional surgery. TORS is a minimally invasive surgical approach that can remove cancer and benign tumors.
This improved access to areas of the throat results in faster and easier recovery for the patients, less side effects with swallowing, and improved cancer outcomes.
TORS uses a minimally invasive surgical approach to treat these conditions:
- Base of tongue cancer
- Head and neck cancer
- Hypopharyngeal cancer
- Laryngeal cancer
- Larynx cancer
- Larynx - benign tumors
- Larynx - Carcinoid tumors
- Larynx squamous cell carcinoma
- Obstructive sleep apnea
- Oropharynx cancer/tumors
- Oropharynx mucoepidermoid carcinoma
- Oropharynx squamous cell carcinoma
- Parapharyngeal space tumors
- Pharynx tumors
- Pyriform sinus cancer
- Skull base squamous cell carcinoma
- Sleep apnea
- Supraglottic tumors
- Tongue base squamous cell carcinoma
- Tonsil cancer
- Tonsil squamous cell carcinoma
- Vallecular cysts
What To Expect
Patients who might be candidates for TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) are evaluated by TORS surgeons at Penn.
For some, an office examination is sufficient to determine if they are candidates for robotic surgery. However, most patients need a staging endoscopy to assess the extent of their cancer.
Although a staging endoscopy may have already been performed by a referring otolaryngologist, another staging endoscopy may be suggested when the patient comes in to see the TORS team at Penn Medicine.
As experts in TORS, Penn surgeons use the staging endoscopy to feel the tumor and see how it may be spreading to surrounding tissues to determine if you are a good candidate for TORS.
Patients who have TORS to treat mouth and throat cancers may experience the following benefits:
- Quicker return to normal activity
- Shorter hospitalization
- Reduced risk of long-term swallowing problems that are more commonly seen with chemoradiation or traditional open surgery
- Fewer complications compared to traditional open surgery
- Less scarring than traditional open surgery
- Less risk of infection
- Less risk of blood transfusion when compared to open surgery
- No routine use of tracheostomy during surgery compared to routine use for open surgery