Transoral Robotic Surgery Video

Sharp Chula Vista-affiliated physician Dr. Albert A. McClain, discusses a new procedure for treating tumors in the mouth or throat. Aired Dec. 30, 2010, on 10News.

Air date: Dec. 30, 2010

For more information: Transoral Robotic Surgery

Transcript

Steve Atkinson, 10News Anchor: It is a first-of-its-kind procedure in San Diego, a robotic surgery that treats tumors in the mouth or the throat.

Kimberly Hunt, 10News Anchor: 10News reporter Alejandra Cerball shows us how it works.

Alejandra Cerball, 10News Reporter: When Wilbert Harding felt a lump in his throat, he knew he had to do something. He went to the doctor and this is what they found: a small tumor in his throat. This is what the inside of his throat looks like now. He's one of the first few patients in the county to have transoral robotic surgery.

Dr. Albert A. McClain, Sharp Chula Vista-Affiliated Otolaryngologist: What this allows us to do is decrease the amount of chemotherapy and possibly decrease the amount of radiation therapy.

Cerball: Dr. Albert A. McClain is the only surgeon in San Diego who can perform this type of procedure. Large incisions are no longer required to remove tumors in the throat and mouth. Instead, surgeons use their hands to maneuver the robot's arms.

Dr. McClain: Think of it like a fantastic voyage. Miniaturizing your hands, miniaturizing your eyes and being able to travel into areas you could not travel in before.

Cerball: Here's an example of the precise incisions: The small hands can easily remove the skin off this grape. The FDA just approved the da Vinci® Surgical System for transoral robotic surgery earlier this year, and thanks to a $1.2 million anonymous donation, Sharp Chula Vista is the first in the county to have the technology [*Sharp Chula Vista is the first in the county to offer transoral robotic surgery].

Wilbert Harding, Patient: It was exciting, really. I didn't get to see the robot [laughs], but it worked out OK.

Cerball: Sharp Chula Vista admits about 400 inpatients per year with a primary diagnosis of cancer, and about three to five percent of their patients with cancer have head and neck cancers. Although Harding's tumor wasn't cancerous, he says he didn't feel any pain after the surgery and was only sore for about a week. Alejandra Cerball, 10News.

Hunt: Fewer than 12 hospitals nationwide are performing transoral robotic surgery.