• Providers and Locations
• Audiology
• Balance Center
• Cranial Base Surgery
• Facial Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• General Otolaryngology
• Head and Neck Cancer Surgery
• Rhinology (Sino-Nasal Conditions and Surgery)
• Otology/Neurotology
• Smell and Taste Disorders
• Speech-Language Pathology
• TransOral Robotic Surgery
  • Benefits
  • What to Expect
  • Before TORS
  • Staging Endoscopy for Appropriate Patient Selection
  • After TORS
  • Staged Neck Dissection after TORS
  • Postoperative Radiation after TORS
  • TORS for Sleep Apnea
  • News
  • Patient Testimonials
  • Frequently Asked Questions
  • Team
  • Locations
  • Travel Information
  • History of TORS
• Voice, Speech and Swallowing Disorders

For Patients Make an Appointment Encyclopedia Articles about Ear, Nose and Throat

Short-Term and Long-Term

The state-of-the-art da Vinci Surgical System has, for the first time, allowed surgeons to gain greater access to the areas of the throat for the removal of cancers and benign lesions via a minimally-invasive robotic approach. The surgeon benefits by having improved access to the tight confines of the throat and the patient benefits in the short-term by faster and easier recovery and, in the long-term, by outstanding cancer results and improved swallowing results compared to alternative treatments.

Drs. O'Malley and Weinstein, the inventors of the TORS approach have published key articles and chapters in the literature, based on many years of research showing significant benefit to TORS

Benefits of TORS can include:

• Quicker return to normal activity
• Shorter hospitalization
• Reduced risk of long-term swallowing problems that are more commonly seen when chemoradiation or traditional open surgery is used for definitive treatment instead of robotic 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

TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS) State-of-the-Art Technology

The medical literature confirms that TransOral Robotic Surgery's revolutionary technique, invented and developed by Drs. Gregory S. Weinstein and Bert W. O'Malley, Jr., of Penn Medicine, contributes to improved outcomes for cancers and benign lesions of the mouth, voice box, tonsil, tongue and other parts of the throat.

Robotic surgery offers state-of-the-art care and the most modern approach to achieve faster and improved outcomes. The miniaturization of the instrumentation, wristed instrumentation, tremor filtration, and 3D magnification all aid the surgeon. While working within the tight confines of the throat, this surgical approach allows excellent exposure of the operative field and permits the removal of cancer and benign lesions without incisions from the outside of the neck inwards, which are needed with standard open approaches. The visualization with the robotic endoscopic video equipment overcomes the limitations of older minimally-invasive techniques such as TransOral laser microsurgery.

Learn More about TransOral Robotic Surgery (TORS)

Penn Medicine is committed to providing world-class health care to patients from around the country and the world. To learn more about this revolutionary procedure, contact the TransOral robotic surgery (TORS) team at 215-349-5390.

 

	Need an appointment? Request one online 24 hours/day, 7 days/week or call 800-789-PENN (7366) to speak to a referral counselor.