Saline-aided ultrasound-guided transoral biopsy of retropharyngeal nodes in head and neck cancer: A feasibility study of five patients.

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the feasibility of the novel technique of intra-cavitary saline-aided ultrasound (US) guided transoral biopsy or excision of retropharyngeal nodes. We followed the IDEAL 2a framework to develop this technique. Procedures were performed between July 2020 and July 2022 at a tertiary head and neck center. Five patients in total underwent an ultrasound-guided biopsy of a retropharyngeal node. They underwent seven procedures between them: three transoral robotic surgery (TORS) procedures, three fine needle aspirations (FNA) and/or core biopsy procedures, and one US assessment under general anesthetic. The six patients with histology taken (three TORS and three FNA/core biopsies) all had diagnostically adequate samples enabling appropriate treatment planning. There were no significant complications from the procedure. Saline-aided US-guided biopsy of a retropharyngeal node is a safe and useful tool enabling accurate tissue sampling and tumor excision and ongoing appropriate treatment planning.