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.
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