In a first, a robot was used to successfully remove a rare tumour from a patient's neck in a surgery led by an Indian-origin surgeon. Among his injuries from the accident, Pernikoff tore his rotator cuff and had several herniated discs. A team led by Neil Malhotra, an assistant professor decided to remove the tumour through a rare and complex spinal surgery approach by using a trans-oral robotic (TORS) approach for the second part of the surgery. First, the neurosurgeons went through the back of Pernikoff's neck and cut the spine around the tumour to prepare for the second stage, removing the tumour through his mouth. Nine months after the surgery, Pernikoff is already back to work.

Source: dna May 08, 2018 13:07 UTC