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Telemedicine has been effective in the management of various medical conditions, however, there is limited knowledge of its use in head and neck oncosurveillance. This is of importance currently while trying to mitigate the risk of transmission during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to evaluate acceptability, satisfaction and perceptions of telemedicine technology among outpatients for head and neck oncologic surveillance.A cross-sectional study was conducted for head and neck surgical oncology patients who attended telemedicine consultations between March and October 2020 at the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. Data on demographic, socioeconomic and acceptability variables was collected, utilizing Likert scale questions. The primary outcome measures were patient satisfaction and perceptions, while the secondary outcome was access to technology.One hundred and fifteen patients were invited to participate, and 100 were included in the final analysis; 95% of patient's had a positive experience with telemedicine appointments and were willing to have future telemedicine appointments. Regional and rural patients were more accepting of telemedicine consultations, citing savings in travel time and the minimal disruption to normal day-to-day activities. All participants had access to telecommunication devices, with 63% having three or more devices. Issues identified include a lack of physical examination by clinician for 65% of participants and the inability to self-examine for 88% of participants.The study demonstrates patients' acceptance of telemedicine appointments as a component of outpatient surveillance for head and neck surgical oncology. This has benefits during the COVID-19 pandemic in addition to increasing accessibility for rural patients.

The minority of head and neck cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) metastasize to regional lymph nodes. The purpose of this study was to describe the clinical outcomes and prognostic factors for patients with node-positive head and neck cutaneous SCC who underwent lymphadenectomy.We conducted a retrospective single center study using the Kaplan-Meier method for the investigation of the overall survival (OS) and locoregional control rates. The Cox proportional hazards model was evaluated to identify prognostic factors.The median number of positive lymph nodes from 149 lymphadenectomies was 2 in the neck and 1 in the parotid gland. The 5-year OS and locoregional control rates were 50% and 77%, respectively. OS was worse among older patients (hazard ratio [HR], 1.04; p = .015), immunosuppressed patients (HR, 2.06; p = .034), and patients with a high total lymph node ratio (calculated from the number of positive lymph nodes divided by the total number of nodes; multivariate analysis [MVA]; HR, 1.13; p = .019).Low total lymph node ratio is associated with improved outcomes in node-positive head and neck cutaneous SCC. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 39: 772-778, 2017.

Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) is now a well-validated technique for resection of head and neck cancers. Benefits include reduced patient morbidity, swallowing preservation and rationalization of adjuvant therapies.This was a single-centre, retrospective review of 35 patients who underwent TORS of oro-, retro- and parapharyngeal tumours between March 2014 and August 2015. Outcome measures included resection margins, swallowing function and impact on post-operative radiotherapy.Median age was 63.7 years and the number of male patients was 22 (62.9%). Tongue base was the most common site (51.4%), followed by tonsil (25.7%). Nine patients (25.7%) had previous radiotherapy. A total of 24 patients had squamous cell carcinoma and the clear margin rate for primary TORS was 93.3%. Median hospital stay was 5.5 days, longer for previously irradiated patients (9 days). Median nasogastric tube dependence was 3.5 days. Four patients (11.4%) received a gastrostomy and two patients remained dependent on the tube at the time of last review. There were two major complications (5.7%): bleeding requiring return to theatre (1) and pulmonary embolism (1). Post-operative radiotherapy was either avoided or reduced in 22 patients (81.5%).TORS is a safe and effective tool, providing surgical access to oropharyngeal and other difficult to access areas. Patient selection and a multidisciplinary approach are essential to ensure adequate margins can be achieved and therefore to reduce adjuvant therapies.