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Head & Neck Conditions (Throat Cancers)
Finding out you have cancer may be one of the hardest things you’ve faced. That’s why it’s important to learn the facts about your condition before choosing the best path forward.
Throat cancer includes:
- Oral cavity: inner lip, tongue, floor of mouth, gingivae (gums), and hard palate (roof of mouth)
- Nasopharynx: nasal cavities and tubes that connect the upper part of the throat
- Oropharynx: soft palate, base of tongue and tonsils
- Hypopharynx: sinuses, wall of pharynx (tube behind the nose/nasal cavity) and postcricoid area (where larynx and esophagus meet)
- Larynx: mainly voice box and vocal cords
- Trachea: windpipe
Your doctor will suggest the best plan of action based on the size, stage and location of the tumor. If surgery is recommended, it can include: open surgery through one large incision (cut) or transoral surgery (minimally invasive surgery through the mouth).
Minimally invasive surgery can be done through transoral laser surgery or da Vinci transoral robotic-assisted surgery (TORS).
- Learn more: da Vinci TORS
The da Vinci System has brought minimally invasive surgery to more than 3 million patients worldwide. da Vinci technology – changing the experience of surgery for people around the world.
- To locate a da Vinci surgeon nearest you, use our surgeon locator.
- Learn more about the da Vinci Surgical System
Transoral Robotic Surgery-TORS (head & neck surgery): bleeding that may be life-threatening, difficulty swallowing which could include the need for a permanent feeding tube without eating by mouth, breathing tube needs to be re-inserted, need to create breathing hole in the neck (tracheotomy and tracheostomy), need to use breathing tube and ventilator for a long time, changes to or loss of taste, tongue cannot move, difficulty opening mouth, broken teeth, narrowing of throat, changes in speech or voice quality, abnormal path from the gland that produces saliva, vocal cord damage, difficulty speaking, injury to teeth, difficulty breathing due to an airway blockage, loss of feeling in tongue, lip injury, injury to nerves in tongue and weak tongue. NOTE: Transoral Robotic Surgery is intended for use only in benign and early to moderate stage cancerous tumors (classified as T1 or T2) and for benign base of tongue resection procedures.
Important Safety Information
Serious complications may occur in any surgery, including da Vinci® Surgery, up to and including death. Individual surgical results may vary. Patients should talk to their doctor to decide if da Vinci Surgery is right for them. Patients and doctors should review all available information on non-surgical and surgical options in order to make an informed decision. Please also refer to http://www.daVinciSurgery.com/Safety for Important Safety Information.
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