With appropriate adjuvant therapy, TORS achieves excellent functional results for patients with oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Oncologic outcomes are equivalent or superior to results of other surgical and nonsurgical treatments.

The aim of this retrospective study was to describe the oncologic and functional results of treating oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma with transoral robotic surgery and neck dissection as monotherapy. A review was performed, including all patients who underwent transoral robotic surgery and neck dissection as the only means of therapy for oropharyngeal carcinoma from March 2007 to July 2009 at a single tertiary care academic medical center. We reviewed all cases with ≥ 24-month follow-up. Functional outcomes included tracheostomy dependence and oral feeding ability. Oncologic outcomes were stratified by human papillomavirus (HPV) status and tobacco use and included local, regional, and distant disease control, as well as disease-specific and recurrence-free survival. Eighteen patients met study criteria. Ten patients (55.6%) were able to eat orally in the immediate postoperative period, and 8 (44.4%) required a temporary nasogastric tube for a mean duration of 13.6 days (range 3 to 24 days) before returning to an oral diet. No patient required placement of a gastrostomy tube, and all patients are tracheostomy-tube–free. Among the HPV-positive nonsmokers (12/18, 66.7%), Kaplan-Meier estimated 3-year local, regional, and distant control rates were 90.9%, 100%, and 100%, respectively. Kaplan-Meier estimated disease-specific survival and recurrence-free survival were 100% and 90.9%, respectively. No complications occurred.

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This study uniquely demonstrated a statistically significant association between clinical tumor stage and tonsil subsite with level IIB metastasis in OPSCC. Considering the predicted incidence of nodal metastasis, we conclude that level IIB neck dissection can be omitted in early stage (T1 or T2) clinically node negative (cN0) OPSCC. In patients with a cN0 neck and advanced OPSCC (T3 or T4), primary tumor in the tonsil, or ipsilateral clinically node positive (cN(+) ) and contralateral cN0 neck, level IIB dissection should be considered. Level IIB dissection should be performed routinely in patients with cN(+) OPSCC.

The anti-HbF flow cytometric method for detection of fetal cells offers a simple, reliable, and more precise alternative to the Kleihauer-Betke manual technique for the assessment of fetomaternal hemorrhage. The method has additional potential applications for the study of HbF levels or frequency of adult red cells with low levels of HbF (F cells) in individuals with hemoglobinopathies.

Cysts of the vallecula are rare, accounting for 10.5% to 20.1% of all laryngeal cysts. Vallecular cysts may present with diverse symptoms affecting the voice, airway, and swallowing. We describe the evaluation and treatment of a 70-year-old woman who presented with dysphagia caused by large bilateral vallecular cysts.

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Compared with EC:TORS, TY:TORS seems feasible and safe. In addition, TY:TORS resulted in fewer intraoperative pharyngotomies and less postoperative pain than did EC:TORS, which may be because of decreased collateral thermal damage, improved visualization, and finer cutting using the thulium laser.