Publications by authors named "Howard Poon"
Article Synopsis
- COVID-19 often requires patients to have severe respiratory support, sometimes leading to extended use of mechanical ventilation in ICU settings.
- Open Tracheostomy (OT) is preferred for its clear visibility during surgery, but Percutaneous Tracheostomy (PT) is a less invasive option that has limitations due to its reliance on surface landmarks for placement.
- The proposed solution is a flexible mini-robotic system that utilizes robotic needling technology to perform a more precise and controlled tracheal puncture from an "inside-out" approach, potentially minimizing complications associated with PT.
Oropharyngeal tumor is traditionally resected from an open approach, often necessitating the need of a midline mandibulotomy in order to remove tumor safely with oncologic margins. The limitations imposed by a transoral route include poor visualization of the inferior extent of the oropharynx, rigid instrumentation, and inability to resect tumor that extends caudally into the supraglottis. While visualization with angled endoscopes, coupled with flexible laser development and microscopic magnification may overcome some of these limitations, this technique suffers from linear trajectory of the instruments which hampers expedient surgical resection in a 3-dimensional fashion.
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