ENT Surgical Oncology / Future of the Field

[applicant0704]

Hey everyone,

I was curious what you all thought about the the future of head and neck surgical oncology? Some physicians mentioned that a lot of head and neck cancers are being treated primarily with radiation and Head and Neck surgeons are playing less of a role in treatment.

I guess what I'm really getting at is how do you think the ENT's role in surgical oncology will change over the coming years? Especially with the epidemiological changes in cancers (decrease in smoking and increase in HPV)?

I am an M1 so I was interested in hearing from people who have more exposure.

Thanks a lot!

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[OtoHNS]

With the advent of TORS (transoral robotic surgery), surgery may play more of a role in early stage oro- and hypopharyngeal and laryngeal cancers than in the past. Surgery has always been the primary treatment for oral cavity cancers, and will always be available for patients who have recurrences after radiation/chemo.

Moral of the story- I don't see H+N surgery dying out anytime soon.

 

[VisionaryTics]

Practice has transitioned more to salvage surgery following radiation, which means nasty necks, nasty disease, big holes requiring complex reconstructions, and lots of complications. So fewer general ENTs will want to wade into these waters and I think a larger chunk of cases will be treated surgically at academic centers by fellowship-trained H&N guys.

I also agree with the above that TORS and TLM allows us to apply "organ-preservation" approaches to oropharyngeal/laryngeal disease.