Faculty Bibliography

IMPORTANCE/OBJECTIVE:At many institutions, computed tomography with iodinated intravenous contrast medium is the preferred imaging modality for staging of the neck in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. However, few studies have specifically assessed the diagnostic accuracy of computed tomography for determining the presence or absence of extracapsular spread (ECS). OBJECTIVE:To determine the accuracy of modern, contrast-enhanced, multidetector computed tomography in the diagnosis of ECS of cervical lymph node metastases from squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:Retrospective observational study at an academic tertiary referral center among 100 consecutive patients between May 1, 2007, and February 1, 2012, who underwent a lateral cervical neck dissection for squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck with neck metastases of at least 1 cm in diameter on pathologic assessment. Exclusion criteria included malignant neoplasms other than squamous cell carcinoma, a delay in surgery longer than 6 weeks from the time of staging computed tomography, and prior treatment of the neck or recurrent disease or a second primary. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES/METHODS:Each patient was independently assigned a subjective score for the presence of ECS by 2 Certificate of Added Qualification-certified neuroradiologists according to a 5-point scale. Receiver operating characteristic curves were generated, and sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, positive predictive value, and negative predictive value were calculated for each observer. RESULTS:The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curve for observers 1 and 2 are 0.678 (95% CI, 0.578-0.768) and 0.621 (95% CI, 0.518-0.716), respectively. For observer 1, the positive and negative predictive values for the detection of ECS were 84% (95% CI, 68%-93%) and 49% (95% CI, 36%-62%), respectively. For observer 2, the positive and negative predictive values for the detection of ECS were 71% (95% CI, 57%-82%) and 48% (95% CI, 32%-64%), respectively. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE/CONCLUSIONS:Computed tomography cannot be used to reliably determine the presence of pathologic ECS. Radiologic findings suggestive of ECS should not be relied on for treatment planning in squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

IMPORTANCE/OBJECTIVE:Since technologic advances allow the use of robotic assistance in various surgical interventions performed to treat pediatric otolaryngology patients, the feasibility and outcomes of potential procedures must be assessed. OBJECTIVE:To assess the feasibility and outcomes of robotic-assisted lingual tonsillectomy in the pediatric population. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS/METHODS:Retrospective medical record review in a tertiary care children's hospital of 16 pediatric patients who underwent robotic-assisted lingual tonsillectomy from March 1, 2011, through December 31, 2012. INTERVENTION/METHODS:All patients underwent robotic-assisted lingual tonsillectomy using the da Vinci Surgical System (Intuitive Surgical, Inc) at the Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES/METHODS:Demographic data, comorbidities, robot docking time, operative time, estimated blood loss, and postoperative course, including complications in the immediate and longer-term postoperative period, were collected and analyzed. RESULTS:All patients successfully underwent lingual tonsillectomy using the da Vinci Surgical System. Endotracheal intubation was performed in all patients and did not interfere with visualization of the oropharynx. Optimal retraction allowed visualization of pertinent structures and maximized transoral access. A significant learning curve from the first 5 surgical cases to subsequent cases with respect to robot docking time was observed (9 vs 3 minutes, respectively; P < .05). Operative time, estimated blood loss, and postoperative complication profiles are within the expected and acceptable limitations for performing lingual tonsillectomy in the pediatric population. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE/CONCLUSIONS:Technologic advances have allowed miniaturization of robotic instrumentation and have expanded the scope of surgical options for the pediatric airway. Robotic-assisted lingual tonsillectomy is well tolerated and can be performed in the pediatric population with excellent success. It should be considered a feasible option for implementation at an institution-based level.

As minimally invasive surgery has become common in head and neck surgery, the role of robotic surgery has expanded from thyroid surgery and transoral robotic surgery (TORS) of the oropharynx and supraglottic to other areas. Surgeons have advanced the limits of TORS, adapting lasers to the Da Vinci robot for glottic cancer, and combining existing techniques for transoral supraglottic laryngectomy and hypopharyngectomy to perform transoral total laryngectomy. Skull base approaches have been reported with some success in case reports and cadaver models, but the current instrument size and configuration limit the applicability of the current robotic system. Surgeons have reported reconstruction of the head and neck via local and free flaps. Using the previously reported approaches for thyroidectomy via modified facelift incision, neck dissection has also been reported. Future applications of robotic surgery in otolaryngology may be additionally expanded, as several new robotic technologies are under development for endolaryngeal work and neurotology.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE:Optimizing the utilization of surveillance PET/CT in treated HNSCC is an area of ongoing research. Our aim was to determine the negative predictive value of PET/CT in patients with treated head and neck squamous cell cancer and to determine whether negative PET/CT reduces the need for further imaging surveillance. MATERIALS AND METHODS/METHODS:We evaluated patients with treated HNSCC who underwent posttreatment surveillance PET/CT. During routine clinical readouts, scans were categorized as having negative, probably negative, probably malignant, or malignant findings. We followed patients clinically and radiographically for at least 12 months from their last PET/CT (mean, 26 months; median, 28 months; range, 12-89 months) to determine recurrence rates. All suspected recurrences underwent biopsy for confirmation. RESULTS:Five hundred twelve patients (1553 scans) were included in the study. Two hundred fourteen patients had at least 1 PET/CT with negative findings. Of the 214 patients with a scan with negative findings, 19 (9%) eventually experienced recurrence, resulting in a NPV of 91%. In addition, a subgroup of 114 patients with 2 consecutive PET/CT examinations with negative findings within a 6-month period was identified. Only 2 recurrences were found in this group, giving a NPV of 98%. CONCLUSIONS:In patients treated for HNSCC, a single PET/CT with negative findings carries a NPV of 91%, which is not adequate to defer further radiologic surveillance. Two consecutive PET/CT examinations with negative findings within a 6-month period, however, resulted in a NPV of 98%, which could obviate further radiologic imaging in the absence of clinical signs of recurrence.

Genomic findings underscore the heterogeneity of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC). Identification of mutations that predict therapeutic response would be a major advance. We determined the mutationally altered, targetable mitogenic pathways in a large HNSCC cohort. Analysis of whole-exome sequencing data from 151 tumors revealed the phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway to be the most frequently mutated oncogenic pathway (30.5%). PI3K pathway-mutated HNSCC tumors harbored a significantly higher rate of mutations in known cancer genes. In a subset of human papillomavirus-positive tumors, PIK3CA or PIK3R1 was the only mutated cancer gene. Strikingly, all tumors with concurrent mutation of multiple PI3K pathway genes were advanced (stage IV), implicating concerted PI3K pathway aberrations in HNSCC progression. Patient-derived tumorgrafts with canonical and noncanonical PIK3CA mutations were sensitive to an mTOR/PI3K inhibitor (BEZ-235), in contrast to PIK3CA-wild-type tumorgrafts. These results suggest that PI3K pathway mutations may serve as predictive biomarkers for treatment selection.

The treatment of oropharyngeal malignancy is associated with numerous functional morbidities. Transoral robotic surgery has been used with increased frequency in adult oropharyngeal malignancy. The benefits include decreased surgical morbidity and improved functional outcomes. Use of transoral robotic has been limited in children. This case represents our experience with a 17-month old child who was diagnosed with a high-grade undifferentiated sarcoma of the soft palate. She was able to be successfully treated with transoral robotic surgery as a part of her multimodal therapy, representing the first case of transoral robotic surgery for an oropharyngeal malignancy in a young child.

Retropharyngeal lymph node (RPLN) metastases can occur from advanced head and neck malignancies. Surgical access to RPLNs can be challenging. Considering the more aggressive conventional approach methods, there is an increasing need for minimally invasive techniques. Applying transoral robotic surgery (TORS) to access the RPLN has never been reported in the literature. The purpose of this study was to describe our experience with transoral robotic RPLN dissection for oropharyngeal and hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinomas. We conducted a retrospective review of TORS cases performed at Severance Hospital, a tertiary care medical center from December 2011 to July 2012. Demographic, clinicopathologic, and treatment characteristics were abstracted from the medical record as well as complications and were analyzed descriptively. A total of 5 TORS procedures with transoral robotic RPLN dissection have been performed at Severance Hospital. Of these, 4 patients were treated for oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma and 1 for hypopharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. The mean operation time for TORS including the robotic RPLN dissection was 84 ± 18.5 minutes. The operation time included time for docking of the robotic arms (4.8 ± 1.3 minutes), console working time for primary tumor removal (50 ± 8.9 minutes), and console working time for RPLN dissection (29.2 ± 9.4 minutes). No patients experienced complications related to the transoral robotic RPLN dissection. Transoral robotic RPLN dissection is a feasible approach for accessing retropharyngeal lymph nodes. This particular operative technique can serve as a minimal invasive surgery in removing pathologic RPLNs.

Robotic surgical systems have been developed to augment the capabilities of the surgeon when applied to limited access surgical situations. The adaption of robotic technology to the management of oropharyngeal pathology may represent a paradigm shift in the management of early stage oral malignancies that have commonly been treated with chemoradiation due to the morbidity associated with standard open surgical techniques. The creation of a surgical defect with this approach also creates the need to develop and adapt techniques for reconstruction. Fortunately, the surgical robot is easily applied to the transposition of local flaps to meet these reconstructive needs. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.

Although the role of transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is rapidly expanding in its surgical management options for both benign and malignant head and neck pathology in the adult population, its role is currently less defined in the pediatric population. Results using TORS to perform lingual tonsillectomy, laryngeal cleft repair, and oropharyngeal reconstruction with local flaps are promising, nevertheless, this technology is still in its infancy with respect to use in pediatric airway disease. The following text describes indications for utilization of TORS, operative techniques, and expected postoperative outcomes and complication profiles in the pediatric patient. © 2013.

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for oropharyngeal and laryngohypo-pharyngeal tumors is not only a functionally but also a cosmetically excellent approach. However, visible cervical scars for elective neck dissection (ND) or therapeutic ND cannot be avoided. In our experience, using the conventional neck dissection resulted in long neck scars in patients with high risk of nodal metastases. Robot-assisted neck dissection (RAND) through transaxillary approach in a well-differentiated thyroid carcinoma with lateral neck node metastasis was first reported. Complete ND of the upper neck including level I is frequently required in the surgical management of head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, so we hypothesized that a retroauricular approach could provide the surgical field required for upper ND. Initially, we developed robot-assisted selective ND through a transaxillary and retroauricular approach to hide an apparent scar and to remove lateral or posterior neck compartments after TORS in patients with pharyngeal carcinomas. From accumulation of additional experiences with RAND, we have recently attempted performing level IV and V as well as level I-III dissections through a modified facelift or retroauricular approach without an axillary incision in head and neck cancers. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.