Source: newsok.com
Author: staff

Robotic surgery is continuing to expand and provide patients with a variety of less invasive treatment options – especially when it comes to cancer treatment.

Dr. Brad Mons, a head and neck surgeon at Cancer Treatment Centers of America®in Tulsa, said the Flex Robotic® System, which the hospital added last year, is an especially significant breakthrough for people diagnosed with head and neck cancer.

“With this system, we can get to the small areas of the mouth and pharynx more easily to remove tumors in the region,” Mons said. “This affords us the ability to be much less invasive in head and neck cancer surgeries.”

Robotic surgery is continuing to expand and provide patients with a variety of less invasive treatment options. Photo provided by CTCA.

Currently only available at a small number of hospitals in the United States and designed to overcome line-of-sight limitations, the Flex Robotic System utilizes a uniquely flexible robotic endoscope to give surgeons the ability to navigate a path through challenging areas of the mouth, throat, rectum and colon.

For patients, this means potentially faster recovery time and lower risk of complications or side effects.

Because the Flex Robotic System operates through natural openings rather than requiring large incisions in the body, potential benefits include shorter hospital stays, reduced post-surgical pain, lower risk of infection and complications, less blood loss (and fewer transfusions) and scarring and faster return to normal activities. For throat cancer patients, the technology also means less damage to tissues and muscles critical to eating and daily activities. For colorectal cancer patients, the system provides lower possibility of a colostomy.

“Part of our mission is to continually provide innovative therapies and technology for our patients,” Mons said. “With tools like the Flex Robotic System, we have yet another way to help improve the lives of our patients—and that’s really what it’s all about.”

Cancer Treatment Centers of America has multiple locations across the country, including a state of the art facility in Tulsa. CTCA has been helping patients win the fight against cancer using advanced technology and a personalized approach for more than 30 years.

Source: Cancer Treatment Centers of America