Robotic ENT Surgery Means Less Pain, Faster Healing, and a Quicker Return to Normal Activities
The ear, nose, and throat (ENT) surgeons at Hackensack Meridian Health use robotic technology to perform delicate operations of the mouth, nasal cavities, sinuses, larynx (voice box and vocal cords), and trachea (windpipe).Robotic surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery during which doctors use very small surgical instruments and a camera that fits into a patient’s body through incisions that are less than a half-inch long.
The advantages of robotic surgery may include:
- Decreased blood loss (and reduced need for transfusions)
- Faster recovery and return to normal activities
- Increased precision for complex surgeries
- Less pain after surgery
- Less risk of infection
- Shorter hospital stay
- Smaller incisions and less tissue damage
- Smaller scars, both external and internal
TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) has revolutionized surgery for tumors in the throat, tonsils, or base of the tongue.
Surgeries that once required a large open incision in the neck and months of recovery can now be performed through the mouth without an external incision. Hospitalization is 1-2 days and patients may be eating and drinking the day after surgery.
For certain ENT procedures, our surgeons use single-port robotic technology, which means all the surgical instruments and the camera are inserted through one tube and a single incision or opening. This technology allows for even greater flexibility when performing surgeries in the small and narrow areas of the throat and larynx.
For ENT cancer patients, robotic surgery may reduce or eliminate your need for radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy, decreasing your risk of uncomfortable side effects.
When Should You Consider Robotic ENT Surgery
We use robotic technology to treat the following conditions:
- Any tissue causing sleep apnea
- Benign tumors of the tongue, throat, and larynx
- Enlarged tonsils
- Larynx cancer
- Throat (oropharynx and pharynx) cancers
- Tongue cancers