Base of Tongue Surgery

Abstract

Coblation tongue surgery and trans-oral robotic surgery (TORS) proved to be the most used therapeutic options for the surgical treatment of patients affected by obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) secondary to hypopharyngeal collapse. A systematic review of the literature and an analysis of the techniques are presented in this chapter. The mean rates of failure were 34.4% and 38.5%, respectively, in TORS and Coblation groups. Complications occurred in 21.3% of the patients treated with TORS and in 8.4% of the patients treated with Coblation surgery. TORS seems to give slightly better results, allowing a wider surgical view and a measurable, more consistent removal of lingual tissue. However, the higher rate of minor complication and the significant costs of TORS must also be considered. Moreover, both technologies may be applied to a wide range of surgical techniques, each of them with different effectiveness.