title: Robotic-assisted transoral removal of a bilateral floor of mouth ranulas.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To describe the management of bilateral oral ranulas with the use of the da Vinci Si Surgical System and discuss advantages and disadvantages over traditional transoral resection.
  
  
  METHODS
  Case Report and Review of Literature.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 47 year old woman presented to our service with an obvious right floor of mouth swelling. Clinical evaluation and computerized tomography scan confirmed a large floor of mouth ranula on the right and an incidental asymptomatic early ranula of the left sublingual gland. After obtaining an informed consent, the patient underwent a right transoral robotic-assisted transoral excision of the ranula and sublingual gland with identification and dissection of the submandibular duct and lingual nerve. The patient had an excellent outcome with no evidence of lingual nerve paresis and a return to oral intake on the first postoperative day. Subsequently, the patient underwent an elective transoral robotic-assisted excision of the incidental ranula on the left sublingual gland.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We describe the first robotic-assisted excision of bilateral oral ranulas in current literature. The use of the da Vinci system provides excellent visualization, magnification, and dexterity for transoral surgical management of ranulas with preservation of the lingual nerve and Wharton's duct with good functional outcomes. However, the use of the robotic system for anterior floor of mouth surgery in terms of improved surgical outcomes as compared to traditional transoral surgery, long-term recurrence rates, and cost effectiveness needs further validation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head Neck Surgery, LSU Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA. rwalve@lsuhsc.edu
authors.forename: Rohan R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Walvekar
authors.forename: Geoffrey
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Peters
authors.forename: Elliot
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hardy
authors.forename: Leonard
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Alsfeld
authors.forename: Frederick W
authors.initials: FW
authors.lastname: Stromeyer
authors.forename: Dwayne
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: DiLeo
mesh_terms: D001706:Biopsy; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D019647:Oral Surgical Procedures / Q000379:methods*; D011900:Ranula / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D012371:Robotics; D013361:Sublingual Gland / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D013362:Sublingual Gland Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed