• Oral cancer patients (all stages)

• Advanced stage III–IV cases

• Hypopharyngeal cancer patients

• Economically disadvantaged HNC patients

• Patients seeking appearance/function preservation

The Head and Neck Cancer Team at Tungs' Taichung MetroHarbor Hospital pioneered the use of the Da Vinci surgical system for oral cancer treatment in 2013. The team has advanced Transoral Robotic Surgery (TORS) — performing precise minimally invasive surgery through natural oral pathways, enabling high-precision operations in constrained surgical fields and significantly reducing nerve and tissue damage compared to traditional surgery. The team established a complete TORS standard operating procedure (SOP), combined transoral total glossectomy with en Bloc tissue resection, and is the world's first to combine Da Vinci robotics with a Hybrid OR for head and neck cancer treatment (for carotid artery-invasive patients, combining carotid artery stenting and ECMO). Over 400 patients have been treated, with a 3-year survival rate of 72.4% (vs. 36% with traditional surgery); stage III/IV patients reach 75.2% (vs. 21.1%). The team established a "Head and Neck Cancer Subsidy" program providing NT$440,000 to assist 16 patients in 2023-2024. It is Taiwan's only otolaryngology robotic surgery training and Asia's Da Vinci TR200 observation center.

• World-first TORS for oral cancer technique

• Comprehensive TORS standard operating procedures

• World-first combination of Da Vinci + Hybrid OR

• Combined with carotid stenting and ECMO

• Transoral minimally invasive, preserves appearance/function

• Taiwan's only robotic surgery training/observation center

• Cumulative head/neck cancer cases: 400+

• 3-year Da Vinci surgery patients: 71

• Head/Neck Cancer Subsidy: 16 patients funded

• Surgical training: 508 trainees from 16 countries

• Academic lectures: 67 sessions

• SCI papers: 7 (12 academic articles total)

• Oral cancer completion rate: 100% (2021-2023)

• 3-year overall survival: 72.4% (vs traditional 36%)

• Stage III/IV survival: 75.2% (vs 21.1%)

• Hypopharyngeal cancer 4-yr survival: 100%

• Superior resection margin vs open surgery (p=0.011)

• Death risk reduced 65% (HR=0.35)

• Robotic system failure rate: 0.99% (target ≤2%)

• 48-hr post-op mortality: 0%

• Pre-treatment priority discussion: 92.7%

• Treatment guideline compliance: 98.5%

• 3-year survival target ≥60% achieved

• Customer complaints ≤5 cases/year

• Overall TORS satisfaction: 99.5%

• Pre/post-op nursing visits satisfaction: >95%

• Patient lecture satisfaction: >95%

• Post-op aesthetic improvement: 100%

• Post-op pain control: 96.9%

• 100% would recommend to others

• 12 academic papers, 7 in SCI

• 9 academic lectures and conference presentations

• 2024: Joined National Biobank Consortium (NBCT)

• Taiwan's only robotic surgery training/observation center

• Asia's Da Vinci ENT TR200 center

• 508 trainees from 16 countries

• Rewrites international oral cancer surgery guidelines

• Significantly improves late-stage oral cancer survival

• Financial support enables timely surgery access

• Creates world-first TORS+Hybrid OR technique

• Trains domestic and international physicians