Revisiting vascular contraindications for transoral robotic surgery for oropharyngeal cancer

Objective: We analyzed the outcomes for patients with a retropharyngeal internal carotid artery (ICA) who underwent a transoral robotic surgery (TORS) procedure involving a cervical-transoral robotic oropharyngectomy course with free flap reconstruction. Methods: Patients were included in the prospective multicentric trial NCT02517125. These patients were scheduled to undergo surgery for an oropharyngeal localization. By pre-operative CT scan and MRI it was determined that they had a retropharyngeal internal carotid artery. Results: Three patients had a retropharyngeal ICA: a patient with a 35 mm synovial sarcoma of the tonsillar fossa, a patient with a T2N2b squamous-cell carcinoma (SCC) of the glossotonsillar sulcus, and a patient with a T3N0 SCC of the tonsillar fossa in a previously irradiated field. These patients encountered neither preoperative nor postoperative complications. Conclusions: In our experience, TORS for oropharyngeal cancers appears to be feasible in patients with a retropharyngeal ICA, provided that the procedure has been adapted for complex situations. Level of evidence: 4.