Author: Lissete Hilton Source: www.physician-news.umiamihealth.org The da Vinci Single-Port robot is an example of how seemingly small advances in technology can drastically change cancer patients’ lives. Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of UHealth – the University of Miami Health System, is among the only South Florida health systems to offer the da Vinci Single-Port robot, which surgeons at the cancer center use to remove tumors in the throat. "Being on the cutting edge of robotic surgical advancements that can be applied across multiple specialties allows us to provide the best possible outcomes to our patients," said Dipen J. Parekh, M.D., founding director and chair of the Desai Sethi Urology Institute and director of robotic surgery. Among the patients who benefit most from the new technology are those with squamous cell carcinomas of the tonsil and base of tongue caused by past infection with the human papilloma virus (HPV), according to Donald T. Weed, M.D., co-leader of the Head and Neck Site Disease Group at Sylvester and vice chair for academic affairs in the Department of Otolaryngology at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. “Those are the most common throat cancers that we see in non-smokers,” Dr. Weed said. Benefits of the Single-Arm Robot The single-port robot is a gamechanger compared to previous robotic technology because it provides better access through the narrow opening of the throat, said Francisco J. Civantos, M.D., the Virginia M. Horner Endowed Chair in Head and Neck Oncology Research. The older and more widely [...]