The acceptance and adoption of transoral robotic surgery in Australia and New Zealand

Perception of Young European Otolaryngologists toward Transoral Robotic Surgery in Head and Neck Oncology and Surgery

Background: To investigate the perception of young European otolaryngologists (OTOs), i.e., head and neck surgeons, toward transoral robotic surgery (TORS). Methods: Members of the Young Confederation of European Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery and Young Otolaryngologists of International Federation of Otorhinolaryngological Societies were surveyed about TORS perception and practice. Results: The survey was completed by 120 young OTOS (26%). The most important barriers to TORS were robot availability (73%), cost (69%), and lack of training (37%). The participants believed that the main benefits include better surgical filed view (64%), shorter hospital stay (62%), and better postoperative outcomes (61%) than the conventional approach. Head and neck surgeons considered cT1-T2 oropharyngeal cancers (94%), resection of base of tongue for sleep apnea (86%), or primary unknown cancer (76%) as the most appropriate indications. A total of 67% of TORS surgeons assessed themselves as adequately trained in TORS. Conclusions: Young European OTOs report positive perception, adoption, and knowledge of TORS. The cost-related unavailability and the lack of training or access are reported to be the most important barriers for the spread of TORS.

Theory and evidence-base for a digital platform for the delivery of language tests during awake craniotomy and collaborative brain mapping

Objectives

Build the theoretical and evidence-base for a digital platform (map-OR) which delivers intraoperative language tests during awake craniotomy and facilitates collaborative sharing of brain mapping data.

Design

Mixed methodology study including two scoping reviews, international survey, synthesis of development guiding principles and a risk assessment using failure modes and effects analysis.

Setting

The two scoping reviews examined the literature published in the English language. International survey was completed by members of awake craniotomy teams from 14 countries.

Main outcome measures

Scoping review 1: number of technologies described for language mapping during awake craniotomy. Scoping review 2: barriers and facilitators to adopting novel technology in surgery. International survey: degree of language mapping technology penetration into clinical practice.

Results

A total of 12 research articles describing 6 technologies were included. The technologies required a range of hardware components including portable devices, virtual reality headsets and large integrated multiscreen stacks. The facilitators and barriers of technology adoption in surgery were extracted from 11 studies and mapped onto the 4 Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology constructs. A total of 37 awake craniotomy teams from 14 countries completed the survey. Of the responses, 20 (54.1%) delivered their language tests digitally, 10 (27.0%) delivered tests using cards and 7 (18.9%) used a combination of both. The most commonly used devices were tablet computers (67.7%; n=21) and the most common software used was Microsoft PowerPoint (60.6%; n=20). Four key risks for the proposed digital platform were identified, the highest risk being a software and internet connectivity failure during surgery.

Conclusions

This work represents a rigorous and structured approach to the development of a digital platform for standardized intraoperative language testing during awake craniotomy and for collaborative sharing of brain mapping data.

Trial registration number

Scoping review protocol registrations in OSF registries (scoping review 1: osf.io/su9xm; scoping review 2: osf.io/x4wsc).

Global trends and prospects in health economics of robotic surgery: a bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

Over 10 million robotic surgeries have been performed. However, the cost and benefit of robotic surgery need to be evaluated to help hospitals, surgeons, patients, and payers make proper choices, making a health economic analysis necessary. The authors revealed the bibliometric profile in the field of health economics of robotic surgery to prompt research development and guide future studies.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

The Web of Science Core Collection scientific database was searched for documents indexed from 2003 to 31 December 2022. Document types, years, authors, countries, institutions, journal sources, references, and keywords were analyzed and visualized using the Bibliometrix package, WPS Office software, Microsoft PowerPoint 2019, VOSviewer software (version 1.6.18), ggplot2, and Scimago Graphica.

RESULTS

The development of the health economics of robotic surgery can be divided into three phases: slow-growing (2003-2009), developing (2010-2018), and fast-developing (2019-2022). J.C.H. and S.L.C. were the most active and influential authors, respectively. The USA produced the most documents, followed by China, and Italy. Korea had the highest number of citations per document. Surgical Endoscopy and Other Interventional Techniques accepted most documents, whereas Annals of Surgery, European Urology, and Journal of Minimally Invasive Gynecology had the highest number of citations per document. The Journal of Robotic Surgery is promising. The most-cited document in this field is New Technology and Health Care Costs - The Case of Robot-Assisted Surgery in 2010. The proportion of documents on urology is decreasing, while documents in the field of arthrology are emerging and flourishing.

CONCLUSION

Research on the health economics of robotic surgery has been unbalanced. Areas awaiting exploration have been identified. Collaboration between scholars and coverage with provisions for evidence development by the government is needed to learn more comprehensively about the health economics of robotic surgery.

Transoral Robotic Surgery for Head and Neck Cancer: Advances and Residual Knowledge Gaps

Minimally invasive surgery is a growing field in surgical oncology. After acquiring its first Food and Drug Administration approval in 2009 for T1–T2 malignancies of the oral cavity, oropharynx, and larynx, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has gained popularity thanks to its wristed instruments and magnified three-dimensional view, enhancing surgical comfort in remote-access areas. Its indications are expanding in the treatment of head and neck cancer, i.e., resection of tumors of the larynx, hypopharynx, or parapharyngeal space. However, this expansion must remain cautious and based on high-level evidence, in order to guarantee safety and oncological outcomes which are comparable to conventional approaches. This narrative review assesses the current role of TORS in head and neck cancer from an evidence-based perspective, and then identifies what knowledge gaps remain to be addressed.

Morbidity and Mortality Following Transoral Robotic Surgery, a Prospective Single Centre Study

To review complications including mortality after transoral robotic surgery (TORS) for both benign and malignant pathologies. This is a prospective observational study. Postoperative haemorrhage (8.7%) was the most common complication and 2 (1.7%) mortality were seen in this study. Airway complications and tracheostomy (1.7%), aspiration pneumonia (1.7%), swallowing problems and nasogastric feeding (7%), intra-operative pharyngocutaneous fistula (0.9%) and transient nasal regurgitation (3.5%) were also seen. The more tissue is removed the more is the risk of complication. Complications were mainly seen in the first year of starting the service of TORS and it is a reflection of the learning curve. However, secondary haemorrhage did not follow any pattern in our series. The postoperative haemorrhage was more common in patients with T2 oropharyngeal carcinoma. The mortality was seen in 2 patients (1.7%) with T2 oropharyngeal carcinoma due to postoperative haemorrhage. Higher T stage of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) needs bigger resection with resultant increase in morbidity.

Lost in the diffusion chasm: Lessons learned from a failed robot project in the public sector

Public sector organizations increasingly engage in robotic innovation projects to assist or substitute for humans in service delivery. However, transitioning small-scale development projects into a large-scale context is a notoriously difficult task that often fails, with many promising robotic projects becoming lost in the diffusion “chasm.” We investigate a failed robotic diffusion project to analyze what went wrong and what can be learned from it. Despite an increased interest in learning from public sector digitalization failure, little attention has been paid to how and why seemingly successful service robot initiatives fail to move beyond the pilot stage. We identify three types of explanations for diffusion failure using an in-depth case study of a service robot initiative in the Danish eldercare sector that had a high degree of management support and commitment from key stakeholders. Our analysis demonstrates how the failure was caused by interrelated and context-specific reasons regarding the lack of technological maturity of the service robot (technology-oriented explanations), inadequate problem-solution fit in the conceptual design (scope-oriented explanations), and misalignment between the robot company and public sector organization mindsets (competing logic-oriented explanations). We outline the lessons learned for public sector digitalization and discuss the paradox between the hype surrounding robot innovations and their slow diffusion.

The Patient Perspective: Evaluating the Accessibility of Transoral Robotic Surgery Online Resources

PURPOSE

The varied treatment options available to patients with HPV-positive oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma (OPSCC) can cause significant patient confusion. In particular, transoral robotic surgery (TORS) has become widely used for treatment of HPV-positive OPSCC. As patients commonly refer to the internet for additional information, we aim to evaluate the quality of online patient educational materials for TORS in comparison to other otolaryngology surgical procedures.

METHODS

The terms "transoral robotic surgery," "glossectomy," "thyroidectomy," and "neck dissection" were searched on Google. Flesch reading ease, Flesh-Kincaid Grade Level, MD review rates, and PEMAT understandability and actionability were assessed for each search term. Google trends was used to determine search interest for each term between May 2015 and May 2020.

RESULTS

Of the 30 TORS websites that met inclusion criteria, the average FRE and FKGL scores were 40.74 and 11.60 (that of an average high school senior). The FRE and FKGL scores for TORS were all statistically significantly lower than those of all comparator search terms (P < .05). Only 1 out of 30 TORS sites were MD reviewed, representing the lowest MD review rate across all search terms. Understandability and actionability scores for TORS were also the lowest across all search terms at 77.71% and 2.66%, respectively. TORS had the lowest search interest.

CONCLUSIONS

In comparison to other common otolaryngology procedures, TORS websites are the least patient friendly. As TORS becomes a more widely used procedure, it is critical that TORS websites become higher quality resources that patients can reliably reference.

Acceptance and adoption of transoral robotic surgery in Germany

PURPOSE

Since its introduction over a decade ago, the use of robotic surgery (RS) in head and neck surgery has widely spread around the globe, with very differential adoption of this novel surgical technique in different parts of the world. In this study, we analyze the acceptance and adoption of robotic surgery in the head and neck in Germany.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A cross-sectional analysis using a questionnaire evaluating the acceptance and adoption of RS was performed. Questionnaires were distributed to all chairmen /-women of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery Departments in Germany.

RESULTS

A total of 107 respondents completed the questionnaire (65.2%). At university hospitals, 71.4% of the respondents indicated that a robotic system was available, and 21.4% responded that robotic surgery was performed at their institution; 22.7% and 0.04%, respectively, at non-university hospitals. The overall adoption rate was 0.8%. The most common cases performed were TORS resection in the oropharynx. Main reasons for not adopting this technique were costs, lack of interest and available co-operations.

CONCLUSION

This study provides evidence of the extent of adoption of TORS in Germany; main perceived barriers to adoption are costs with lack of cost-covering reimbursement and insufficient co-operations with other disciplines as well as hospital administration resulting in a very low adoption rate of this technique over the past decade. Results from this study may assist in decision-making processes on adopting this technique in the future.

Acceptance of patients towards task-autonomous robotic cochlear implantation: An exploratory study

Background

Recently, task‐autonomous image‐guided robotic cochlear implantation has been successfully completed in patients. However, no data exist on patients' perspective of this new technology. The aim of this study was to evaluate the acceptance of patients towards task‐autonomous robotic cochlear implantation (TARCI).

Methods

We prospectively surveyed 63 subjects (51 patients and 12 parents of infants) scheduled for manual cochlear implantation. We collected sociodemographic and clinico‐pathological characteristics and their attitude towards TARCI for themselves or their child using a questionnaire. Differences between variables were analysed using one‐way analysis of variance and Spearman's rho was used to test for correlation.

Results

Seventy‐three percent of patients and 84% of parents expressed a high acceptance towards TARCI for themselves, or their child, respectively. Interestingly, patients with a negative attitude towards TARCI were significantly younger.

Conclusion

The attitude of patients and parents likely does not represent a barrier towards application of this new technology.