TORS Procedure: What is Transoral Surgery?
Remove Worry and Restore Your Health with the Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) Procedure from Ascentist Healthcare
What is holding you back from living life to its fullest?
When an ear, nose, or throat condition affects your health, whether a neck tumor, tongue cancer, or related issue, worry can take over your life. And when you are worried about your health, it’s hard to enjoy all that life has to offer. With the right medical procedure, you can get your health and control of your life back, and put your worries to rest.
Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) brings effective results and peace of mind to ENT patients, and it could bring you the same. Discover if the TORS procedure can bring you relief. Continue learning about transoral robotic surgery below or schedule an appointment with the Ascentist Healthcare team today!
What is the TORS Procedure?
Transoral robotic surgery, also known as the TORS procedure, is a minimally invasive surgery that uses robotic instruments that look like arms. The term trans-oral translates to “across the mouth,” which is the description for the route the surgery follows. Using no external cuts, robotic arms, controlled by a team of two surgeons, go through the mouth to remove or treat the appropriate area of your head, mouth, or neck.
TORS procedure is versatile and can treat a wide range of conditions. Common ailments treated by the TORS procedure include:
- Early-stage throat cancer
- Early-stage mouth cancer
- Early-stage larynx cancer
- Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)
- Other conditions of the mouth or throat and more!
How Does the TORS Procedure Work? What is the da Vinci® Surgical System?
The da Vinci® System, created by Intuitive, has been used to perform over seven million procedures. The millions of TORS procedures have been overseen by tens of thousands of da Vinci® trained surgeons worldwide, including members of the team at Ascentist Healthcare. The da Vinci® System is multi-jointed and can work in confined spaces, allowing it to effectively and efficiently remove tissues that would be difficult or impossible to remove through other procedures.
The TORS procedure utilizes the da Vinci® System, bringing unique abilities to skilled and experienced surgeons that are not possible for a set of human hands and eyes. The System is guided by a surgeon viewing inside your body at a station through an HD 3D camera with another surgeon near your side. The da Vinci® System translates the exact wrist movements of your surgeon, allowing them to operate with increased capabilities.
After receiving general anesthesia, the team of surgeons will use the da Vinci® System to complete surgery using the TORS procedure.
The TORS procedure gives your trained surgeon the following:
- A wider range of control
- A more unobstructed view of the body
- Versatility
- Flexibility
- Stability
How Long Does TORS Surgery Take?
The TORS procedure typically lasts around one-and-a-half to two hours. After the procedure, you will likely have a short hospital stay of around two days.
Before scheduling your TORS procedure, discuss the risks, benefits, TORS surgery aftercare, and how to prepare for TORS. Contact Ascentist Healthcare today to learn how the TORS procedure can remove your worries and improve your health.
TORS Procedure Benefits
The TORS procedure uses cutting-edge technologies to provide advantages over traditional approaches and technology used in the past. Benefits associated with the TORS procedure for surgeries involving the mouth, neck, and throat include the following:
- Less pain
- Less scarring
- Reduced bleeding
- Reduced hospital stays
- Forgoing a tracheotomy
- The possibility of a decreased likelihood of needing chemotherapy and/or radiation
- A faster return to normal speech and swallowing
You are a Candidate for the TORS Procedure If…
TORS surgery candidates include patients with early-stage cancers and tumors in the mouth, throat, or neck. Due to the versatility of the TORS procedure and the da Vinci® System, there is a wide range of candidates who may benefit from this minimally invasive approach.
TORS procedure candidates include patients who:
- Desire a short recovery time
- Want a shortened hospital time
- Prefer fewer complications and less pain post-procedure
You are Not a Candidate for the TORS Procedure If…
As with any procedure, your doctor will determine if you are a candidate based on your body, condition, state of health, and other risk factors. Reasons you may not be a candidate for the TORS procedure include:
- An allergy to or the inability to receive general anesthesia
- A medical condition that would worsen with transoral surgery
- Body conditions blocking the ability to view inside your body during the procedure
- A tumor that is unresectable, meaning it cannot be operated on
To discuss how TORS compares against primary radiation or a chemoradiation combination, schedule an appointment with Ascentist Healthcare.
TORS Surgery Recovery
Recuperation from TORS surgery is much shorter than traditional open surgery and comes with less risk of side effects. The estimated recovery time is two weeks, allowing you to participate once again in activities and possibly return to work. Pain from TORS surgery is minimal due to the TORS procedure being minimally invasive.
TORS surgery side effects include general discomfort in the area where tissues were removed and light bleeding. TORS surgery complications are not common but may include long-term damage to speech or swallowing.
Explore the TORS Procedure with Ascentist Healthcare
With the TORS procedure from Ascentist Healthcare, you can find safe, effective, and reliable treatment. Ascentist Healthcare’s Dr. Rudman has been performing TORS procedures using the da Vinci® System since 2011. With our team’s experience, we can utilize the TORS procedure to minimalize your recovery times and maximize your results, helping you move past your current condition and worries and towards a happier, more enjoyable life.
Ascentist Healthcare has a team comprised of around 20 physicians that continues to grow. Our growth is a result of our dedication to you – our patients. In addition to the TORS procedure, Ascentist Healthcare offers hearing screenings and aids, allergy testing and treatment, and more.
Ascentist Healthcare offers you the latest in technology, industry-leading customer service, and convenience. Ascentist Healthcare has convenient offices in Kansas City, MO, Lee’s Summit, Merriam, Overland Park and Kansas City, KS. Ascentist Healthcare makes your ear, nose, and throat care clear and simple with attentive and responsive physicians and an easy-to-use online patient portal.
Whether in need of robotic throat surgery or TORS surgery for tonsil cancer, don’t delay relief due to fears of invasive surgery. Learn about the minimally invasive TORS procedure.
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