For patients with advanced-stage oropharyngeal cancer, how does transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) + adjuvant therapy impact swallowing function?
Background: For survival reasons, patients with advanced oropharyngeal cancer have elected adjuvant therapy, which introduces treatment interventions known to acutely and chronically decrease swallowing ability. In recent years, minimally invasive surgical approaches, including
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November 2011transoral laser microsurgery (TLM), have gained momentum in Europe and North America, but whether TLM retains swallowing function is unknown.
Study design: Retrospective analysis and longitudinal descriptive study of swallowing outcomes.