A Prospective Comparison of Robotic and Endoscopic SMG Resection Via Retroauricular Approach

Traditional transcervical incision of the upper neck is a safe and effective approach for resection of the submandibular gland (SMG). However, external scar at the highly visible area may be a burden for the patients and sometimes may lead to disfiguring hypertrophic scar or keloid. Recently, the investigators reported our surgical technique of 'endoscope-assisted' and 'robot-assisted' SMG resection, which was feasible and showed excellent cosmetic outcomes since the scar was hidden by the auricle and hair. In our previous feasibility study of robot-assisted SMG resection, the investigators proposed that robot-assisted technique may overcome the limitations of endoscopic instruments with rigid and straight nature without articulation and surgical view of two-dimension. In addition, the ergonomically designed operating system was more convenient for the surgeon considering the frequent collision of the endoscopic instruments and reversed hand-eye coordination in endoscope-assisted surgery. However, clinical trial comparing the surgical outcomes of the two techniques has not been reported in the literature.

In this study, the investigators made a prospective comparative study of robot-assisted versus endoscope-assisted SMG resection to determine whether robot-assisted technique has benefits regarding early surgical outcomes.