Minimally invasive neck dissection: A 3-year retrospective experience of 45 cases.

Robot-assisted neck dissection requires a larger wound, is expensive and requires specialised equipment which is not easily available. We have developed an inexpensive minimally invasive neck dissection (MIND) procedure using simple endoscopic instruments in the past. This study was conducted to evaluate the safety, efficacy and reproducibility of the technique. From January 2013 to December 2016, we performed MIND on 45 patients with oral cancer using the standard endoscopic equipment. CO Median operative time was 130 (80-190) min with a mean blood loss of 63 (20-150) ml. Major intra-operative complications were not observed. The median number of nodes retrieved was 14 (range: 7-38). Three patients with a positive lymph node were advised to undergo adjuvant radiotherapy. After consultation, 12 out of 13 tongue cancer patients with a tumour depth >3 mm underwent adjuvant radiotherapy. Mean follow-up period was 31.5 (95% confidence interval [CI] 27.9-35.1) months and 27.8 (95% CI 23.6-32.1) months for OS and DFS, respectively. Four (8.9%) deaths and 8 (17.8%) recurrences were observed. The 3-year OS and DFS was 91.1% and 82.2%, respectively. MIND is aesthetically better than conventional procedures for oral cancer patients due to its safety, efficacy and reproducibility at any centre using the standard laparoscopic equipment.

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