Region’s first robotic head and neck surgery takes place at McKee

LOVELAND, Colo. (June 1, 2010) – Loveland head and neck surgeon Sarjvit Gill, MD, has performed Colorado’s first robotically assisted surgery to treat throat cancer. It took place at McKee Medical Center on May 7.

The patient, Gilbert Mulley of Glacier View in northwestern Larimer County, remained in the hospital for a week before he was discharged.
Dr. Gill is one of a handful of surgeons in the nation and the only one in Colorado and surrounding states who has performed head and neck surgery using the daVinci® SI Surgical System. In this approach to treat cancers of the throat, which includes the larynx, tonsils and tongue, the surgeon accesses the area through the mouth.

The robot system allows the physician to perform the delicate operation by providing better visualization, precision, dexterity and improved access to hard-to-reach areas in the throat.

The traditional open approach for surgery to treat throat cancer requires the surgeon to make a long incision through the throat and jaw. The surgeon may need to break the jawbone to perform a tracheostomy to insert a breathing tube. The breathing tube is left in for up to 10 days after the surgery. This surgical approach can cause disfigurement and result in difficulty eating, speaking and swallowing. Reconstructive or plastic surgery may be needed to rebuild the bones or tissues removed during treatment.

The benefits provided in a transoral robotic surgery include less blood loss, no visible scarring or disfigurement, no tracheostomy, fewer complications, a shorter hospital stay and faster recovery and return to normal speech and swallowing.

Dr. Gill added that the three-dimensional view provided by the robot’s camera system means better visualization than what he sees when doing the procedure open. “With the robot, I have excellent visualization. The scope has different angles that allow me to see better than when I have direct line of sight.”

“We are the only people in the whole region that are doing this and it’s really unique,” Gill added.

Nearly a week after his surgery, Mulley said his recovery had been “fairly easy.” He was able to talk within four days of his surgery. In addition to having the tumor removed from his tongue, Mulley also had 58 lymph nodes removed in a separate procedure.

Typically, an open surgery to remove the cancerous areas of the tongue would have required about seven hours in the operating room. By using the robot to remove the tumor, Dr. Gill was able to cut the time spent on that procedure by more than half.

Mulley had been diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of the tongue and lymph nodes earlier this year. His treatment plan had focused on radiation and chemotherapy until his physicians made him aware of the minimally invasive surgical approach using the robot. He and his wife, Yvonne, researched the procedure on the Internet and had faith in Gill to do the surgery. Mulley now has a very good prognosis, Gill said, and is awaiting a decision regarding further radiation.

Dr. Gill has been a head and neck surgeon in Loveland since 1998 and performs numerous radical head and neck surgeries annually. Gill specializes in the entire field of otolaryngology and has an interest in cancer of the head and neck. In addition to removing cancerous areas, he has the unique ability to perform delicate microvascular reconstruction. His ability to do that type of work means that after he has removed cancer, he can reconstruct areas of the mouth or throat taking tissue from the arm or leg. In many cases, that type of tumor removal and tissue reconstruction requires the work of two different specialists.

Dr. Gill completed his head and neck residency at Washington University in Saint Louis. He went to medical school at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Utah. He is married, has two children and lives in Larimer County.

McKee Medical Center now offers minimally invasive surgery for head and neck, as well as gynecologic and urologic conditions. If you have questions or would like more information, please call (970) 203-2089.