Faculty Bibliography

IMPORTANCE:Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is increasingly employed as a treatment option for squamous cell carcinoma of the oropharynx (OPSCC). Measures of surgical learning curves are needed particularly as clinical trials using this technology continue to evolve. OBJECTIVE:To assess learning curves for the oncologic TORS surgeon and to identify the number of cases needed to identify the learning phase. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS:A retrospective review of all patients who underwent TORS for OPSCC at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center between March 2010 and March 2016. Cases were excluded for involvement of a subsite outside of the oropharynx, for nonmalignant abnormality or nonsquamous histology, unknown primary, no tumor in the main specimen, free flap reconstruction, and for an inability to define margin status. EXPOSURES:Transoral robotic surgery for OPSCC. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES:Primary learning measures defined by the authors include the initial and final margin status and time to resection of main surgical specimen. A cumulative sum learning curve was developed for each surgeon for each of the study variables. The inflection point of each surgeon's curve was considered to be the point signaling the completion of the learning phase. RESULTS:There were 382 transoral robotic procedures identified. Of 382 cases, 160 met our inclusion criteria: 68 for surgeon A, 37 for surgeon B, and 55 for surgeon C. Of the 160 included patients, 125 were men and 35 were women. The mean (SD) age of participants was 59.4 (9.5) years. Mean (SD) time to resection including robot set-up was 79 (36) minutes. The inflection points for the final margin status learning curves were 27 cases (surgeon A) and 25 cases (surgeon C). There was no inflection point for surgeon B for final margin status. Inflection points for mean time to resection were: 39 cases (surgeon A), 30 cases (surgeon B), and 27 cases (surgeon C). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE:Using metrics of positive margin rate and time to resection of the main surgical specimen, the learning curve for TORS for OPSCC is surgeon-specific. Inflection points for most learning curves peak between 20 and 30 cases.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS:Evaluate and compare surgical outcomes of slide tracheoplasty for the treatment of congenital tracheal stenosis in children with and without pulmonary malformations. STUDY DESIGN:Retrospective chart review at a tertiary care pediatric medical center. METHODS:We identified patients with tracheal stenosis who underwent slide tracheoplasty from 2001 to 2014, and a subset of these patients who were diagnosed with congenital pulmonary malformations. Hospital course and preoperative and postoperative complications were recorded. RESULTS:One hundred thirty patients (18 with pulmonary malformations, 112 with normal pulmonary anatomy) were included. Pulmonary malformations included unilateral pulmonary agenesis (61%) and hypoplasia (39%). Children with pulmonary malformations had a greater median age compared to their normal lung anatomy counterparts. Preoperatively, patients with pulmonary malformations more frequently required preoperative mechanical ventilation (55.6% vs. 21.3%, P = .007), extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) (11% vs. 0.9%, P = .05), and tracheostomy (22.2% vs. 3.6%, P = .01). Postoperatively, patients with pulmonary malformations more frequently required mechanical ventilation >48 hours (78% vs. 37%, P =.005) and ECMO use (11% vs. 0.9%, P = .05). Pulmonary malformation patients and children with normal anatomy did not differ in terms of postoperative tracheostomy (16.7% vs. 4.4%, P > .05), dehiscence (6% vs. 0%, P > .05%), restenosis (11% vs. 6%, P > .05) or postoperative figure 8 deformity (6% vs. 3%, P > .05). Mortality, however, was significantly increased (22.2% vs. 3.6%, P = .01) in children with pulmonary malformations. CONCLUSIONS:Although slide tracheoplasty can be successfully performed in patients with abnormal pulmonary anatomy, surgeons and families should anticipate a more difficult postoperative course, with possible associated prolonged mechanical ventilation, ECMO use, and higher mortality than in children with tracheal stenosis alone. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE:4. Laryngoscope, 127:1283-1287, 2017.

One to two percent of ectopic parathyroid adenomas are found in the lower mediastinum and often these are best accessed via a sternotomy or thoracotomy. Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is an alternative approach with less surgical trauma, decreased morbidity, shorter hospital stays, and superior cosmetic results. Ten years after the first VATS resection of an ectopic mediastinal parathyroid, a robot-assisted thoracoscopic approach was described. Here we describe a series of five robot assisted complete thymectomies in patients with primary hyperparathyroidism due to mediastinal ectopic parathyroid adenomas. A single surgeon, single institution case series of five consecutive robotic-assisted mediastinal parathyroidectomies was performed between March 2013 and September 2015. The patients' ages ranged from 31 to 65, 80 % were female, and all had primary hyperparathyroidism due to an ectopic parathyroid located in the lower mediastinum. Pre-operative imaging workup included Technetium 99-sestimibi parathyroid scan and CT scan of the chest. An ectopic parathyroid adenoma was successfully removed in all five cases, with intraoperative iOPTH decreasing ~50 % from baseline after 10 minutes. A hypercellular parathyroid was confirmed on pathologic exam in all specimens. Post-operative discharge and follow up calcium levels all returned to normal. There were no intraoperative complications, including no recurrent laryngeal nerve injuries, no postoperative morbidity, and no mortalities. This case series demonstrates that a robot-assisted complete thymectomy for mediastinal parathyroid adenomas causing primary hyperparathyroidism provides excellent visualization of the mediastinum, is effective at reducing PTH and calcium levels, and is safe with no morbidity or mortality.

Objective/UNASSIGNED:Determine if anatomic dimensions of airway structures are associated with airway obstruction in obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Methods/UNASSIGNED: = 14) OSA as determined by clinical symptoms and sleep studies; volunteer sample. Skeletal and soft tissue dimensions were measured from radiocephalometry and magnetic resonance imaging. The soft palate thickness, mandibular plane-hyoid (MP-H) distance, posterior airway space (PAS) diameters and area, and tongue volume were calculated. Results/UNASSIGNED: = 0.004). The MP-H distance, PAS measurements, and tongue volume are of clinical relevance in OSA patients. Conclusions/UNASSIGNED:A long MP-H distance, and small PAS diameters and area are significant anatomic measures in OSA; however the most substantial parameter found was a large tongue volume.

Although residency training offers numerous leadership opportunities, most residents are not exposed to scripted leadership instruction. To explore one program's attitudes about leadership training, a group of otolaryngology faculty (n = 14) and residents (n = 17) was polled about their attitudes. In terms of self-perception, more faculty (10 of 14, 71.4%) than residents (9 of 17, 52.9%; P = .461) considered themselves good leaders. The majority of faculty and residents (27 of 31) thought that adults could be taught leadership ability. Given attitudes about leadership ability and the potential for improvement through instruction, consideration should be given to including such training in otolaryngology residency.

Objective To evaluate the effect of anatomy-specific virtual reality (VR) surgical rehearsal on surgeon confidence and temporal bone dissection performance. Study Design Prospective pre- and poststudy of a novel virtual surgical rehearsal platform. Setting Academic otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residency training programs. Subjects and Methods Sixteen otolaryngology-head and neck surgery residents from 2 North American training institutions were recruited. Surveys were administered to assess subjects' baseline confidence in performing 12 subtasks of cortical mastoidectomy with facial recess. A cadaver temporal bone was randomly assigned to each subject. Cadaver specimens were scanned with a clinical computed tomography protocol, allowing the creation of anatomy-specific models for use in a VR surgical rehearsal platform. Subjects then rehearsed a virtual mastoidectomy on data sets derived from their specimens. Surgical confidence surveys were administered again. Subjects then dissected assigned cadaver specimens, which were blindly graded with a modified Welling scale. A final survey assessed the perceived utility of rehearsal on dissection performance. Results Of 16 subjects, 14 (87.5%) reported a significant increase in overall confidence after conducting an anatomy-specific VR rehearsal. A significant correlation existed between perceived utility of rehearsal and confidence improvement. The effect of rehearsal on confidence was dependent on trainee experience and the inherent difficulty of the surgical subtask. Postrehearsal confidence correlated strongly with graded dissection performance. Subjects rated anatomy-specific rehearsal as having a moderate to high contribution to their dissection performance. Conclusion Anatomy-specific virtual rehearsal improves surgeon confidence in performing mastoid dissection, dependent on surgeon experience and task difficulty. The subjective confidence gained through rehearsal correlates positively with subsequent objective dissection performance.

The potential for the misinterpretation of positron-emission tomography (PET) scans in the context of a possible malignancy has been confirmed in a case report showing increased 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) uptake after unilateral vocal fold augmentation medialization. We sought to expand these findings by investigating FDG uptake in a larger cohort of patients via a retrospective chart review. We examined the records of 15 adults-8 men and 7 women-who had undergone vocal fold augmentation for unilateral vocal fold paralysis and at least one subsequent PET scan. The differences in PET standard uptake value (SUV) between the injected and noninjected vocal folds were assessed via the Wilcoxon signed-rank test. A Spearman rank correlation coefficient was then used to estimate the relationship between differences in PET uptake and the length of time between the injection and the follow-up PET scan. The mean SUV of the injected vocal folds was 3.70, and the mean in the noninjected folds was 2.97. The difference did not achieve statistical significance (p = 0.34). In addition, the rank correlation coefficient with regard to the association between the difference in PET uptake and the duration between injection and PET was -0.24, suggesting an inverse relationship. However, the correlation coefficient did not differ significantly from zero (p = 0.34). We conclude that PET uptake after vocal fold augmentation medialization is variable and that it can increase substantially. This information should be considered in the context of the diagnostic accuracy of malignancy on PET.