Treatment for cancer mainly involves surgeries, radiation therapies and chemotherapy. Surgery has been the initial mode of intervention along with radiation and chemotherapy. However, cancer surgeries have often resulted in cosmetic compromises and has altered speech, voice, etc. in the case of head and neck cancer surgeries. This has resulted in a lack of motivation during surgeries for cancer. In the last 30 years, however, organ preservation has become an important aspect and a possibility in head and neck cancer surgeries.
Multiple types of organ-preserving cancer surgeries are performed by Dr Rajeev Sharan, the most common ones including Robotic Head and Neck Surgery, Robotic Endoscopic Head and Neck Surgery, Robotic Endoscopic Scarless Neck Thyroid Surgery, Transoral Robotic Surgery for Oropharyngeal Cancer, Laser Surgery and Organ-preserving Head and Neck Surgery.
Scarless Thyroid Surgery
Scarless Thyroid Surgery is a very new method of removing some or all of the thyroid gland without leaving any scar in the neck. Most people who need thyroid surgery are candidates for scarless thyroid surgery which can be done two different ways (robotic and transoral). Both types of scarless thyroid surgery are discussed in great detail on this website. Scarless thyroid surgery is the most modern form of thyroid surgery and is only performed by a handful of surgeons world-wide. Great skill and advanced training are required.
Transoral Robotic Surgery for Oropharyngeal Cancer
Tumours in the throat, base of the tongue, and tonsils can be a technical challenge to reach and have traditionally been removed through surgeries requiring a large neck incision and cutting of the bottom jaw. These types of surgeries often require long hospital stays, extensive rehabilitation and may result in difficulty in swallowing and speaking.
Advances in surgical equipment have made it possible to reach these tumours through the mouth by using robotic technology and minimally invasive techniques. The surgical approach allows for a guided endoscope to provide a high resolution, 3D image of the back of the mouth and throat that is a difficult area to reach with conventional tools. With two robotically-guided instruments that act as a surgeon’s arms, tumours are able to be dissected free from surrounding tissue safely.
Laser Surgery
Laser therapy uses an intense, narrow beam of light to remove or destroy cancer and abnormal cells that can turn into cancer. Tumour cells absorb light of different wavelengths (or colors) than normal cells do. So, tumour cells can be targeted by selecting the proper wavelength of the laser. Laser therapy is a type of local treatment, which means it treats a specific part of your body.
Lasers can also be used in other types of local treatment, including photodynamic therapy and a treatment that is like hyperthermia, called laser interstitial thermal therapy, or LITT.
Laser therapy can also be used with surgery. Doctors can use lasers to seal:
Robotic Head and Neck Surgery
While the use of robotic surgery has become an item in the advertisement of medical services, there is a lack of studies that indicated long-term results are superior to results following laparoscopic surgery.
The da Vinci System consists of a surgeon's console that is typically in the same room as the patient, and a patient-side cart with three to four interactive robotic arms (depending on the model) controlled from the console. The arms are for tools that hold objects, and can also act as scalpels, scissors, or graspers; the final arm controls the 3-D cameras. The surgeon uses the console's controls to manoeuvre the patient-side cart's three or four robotic arms. The da Vinci System always requires a human operator.
