[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2018\/09\/robotic-surgery-head-neck-cancer\/#Article","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2018\/09\/robotic-surgery-head-neck-cancer\/","headline":"Doctors and Robots: A Powerful Team in Cancer Surgery","name":"Doctors and Robots: A Powerful Team in Cancer Surgery","description":"Robot-assisted surgery makes it possible to eliminate many of the most worrisome parts of removing head and neck cancer. Learn more about these breakthrough procedures. ","datePublished":"2018-09-26","dateModified":"2020-08-03","author":{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","name":"UPMC Hillman Cancer Center","url":"https:\/\/hillman.upmc.com\/","sameAs":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/upmc-hillman-cancer-center\/","parentOrganization":"UPMC"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"UPMC HealthBeat","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/04\/UPMC-HealthBeat-Logo.png","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Duvvuri.jpg","url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Duvvuri.jpg","height":327,"width":754},"url":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2018\/09\/robotic-surgery-head-neck-cancer\/","about":["Cancer Care"],"wordCount":639,"articleBody":"Being told that you need surgery for cancer is a daunting prospect. Worrying about how you\u2019re going to look after surgery is even more daunting\u2014especially if you have a head or neck cancer. Umamaheswar Duvvuri, MD, PhD, knows that as well as any surgeon.\u201cNobody with a throat or larynx tumor comes into my office and says, \u2018I want you to make an incision in my neck that will leave a significant scar.\u2019 No one has ever said that,\u201d Dr. Duvvuri says. \u201cBut they do need surgery. Robot-assisted surgery makes it possible to eliminate many of the most worrisome parts of removing head and neck cancer.\u201dFind doctors and locations at UPMC Hillman Cancer CenterIt\u2019s not just an aesthetically better option to employ a robot-assisted platform to access and remove tumors in the tight, hard-to-navigate areas of the throat, back of the tongue, pharynx and larynx. It also makes surgery more efficient and faster and allows for an easier recovery.Robots for the Assist\u201cWhen people hear \u2018robot-assisted surgery,\u2019 at first many of them think that a robot is going to do the surgery,\u201d says Dr. Duvvuri. \u201cIt isn\u2019t. The robot is just a tool. The one we use has two thin arms that we insert into the patient\u2019s mouth to give us direct access to tumors in the head and neck region. The robotic arms navigate in a snake-like motion to access the tumor and provide retraction and suction.\u201dUntil recently, there was no minimally invasive option for head and neck cancer intervention\u2014no laparoscopic equivalent existed. Traditional surgery requires a large incision in the neck and moving the structures of the throat to access the tumor. With the robot, no incision is needed.\u201cThe robot enters a natural orifice of the body\u2014in this case, the mouth\u2014and can perform procedures in small spaces without dissecting tissue,\u201d says Dr. Duvvuri. \u201cIt\u2019s faster, safer, and ultimately patients have better outcomes with shorter hospital stays and less recovery time. They get back to work faster, too.\u201dRobot Technology Delivers Big BenefitsHundreds of patients across the country have experienced the benefits of robot-assisted treatment; the technology has proven to be both safe and effective. Dr. Duvvuri alone performs approximately 100 such procedures annually at UPMC.Another welcome result of using robot technology: Operations that once took as long as six or seven hours now take just one or two.\u201cShorter procedures require less anesthesia, which means faster recovery for patients,\u201d says Dr. Duvvuri. \u201cAnd when there\u2019s no cutting, there\u2019s less swelling\u2014which means there\u2019s no need for a tracheostomy or feeding tube afterward.Patients can breathe on their own and eat by mouth after the robotic surgery. What used to involve weeks in the hospital now can just mean a two-day stay. Pain management is easier, as well.\u201dThe Future Is Robotic and CollaborativeRobot-assisted surgery is here to stay. Dr. Duvvuri envisions a future of continued collaboration with engineers, scientists, and physicians resulting in an environment in which the technology is so efficient and the imaging tools so effective that tumors are easier to find and remove.The robots are becoming more at home in the operating room for many different types of surgery. Dr. Duvvuri is the medical director of Pittsburgh CREATES (Collaborative Research, Education, and Technology Enhancement in Surgery), a center within the University of Pittsburgh\u2019s Department of Otolaryngology that specializes in research, training, and innovation for advanced surgical technologies. The center works with companies to help solve challenges and make advances in minimally invasive surgical approaches across many disciplines.\u201cThere will come a time when there will be autonomous robots doing parts of various surgical procedures,\u201d says Duvvuri. \u201cWe aren\u2019t there yet, but it\u2019s likely coming soon to an operating room near you.\u201d"},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"2018","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2018\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"09","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2018\/\/09\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Doctors and Robots: A Powerful Team in Cancer Surgery","item":"https:\/\/share-dev.upmc.com\/2018\/09\/robotic-surgery-head-neck-cancer\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]