Today, advanced cancer treatment is available to combat cancer effectively despite the challenges of early detection and improving survival rates. However, oral cancer ranks sixth in the list of most commonly occurring cancers globally, while in India, its incidence is relatively high. Oral cancer is the most common cancer among men in India. Oral cancer is otherwise called cancer of mouth includes tongue, inner side of cheek,lips, under the tongue, palate and the tissue lining the gums.

Despite dedicated attempts to raise cancer awareness, tobacco and alcohol consumption remain the major causes of oral cancer. Surgery, immunotherapy, radiation, chemotherapy and targeted therapy are available to treat oral cancer.

Dr Sandeep Nayak, India’s leading oncologist and the founder of the MACS Clinic in Bangalore, states, ‘As an oncologist, I firmly believe in suggesting the suitable cancer treatment options for their recovery and becoming cancer-free. Also, surgery is the mainstay of any oral cancer treatment if there is a cancerous lesion or tumor, followed by other treatment options as decided upon by the multidisciplinary team.

Further, he states a neck dissection surgery where lymph node glands from the neck are removed is one of the main components of the surgical procedure to treat oral cancer. Surgical approaches to dissecting the neck are traditional open, endoscopic, or robotic surgery. Out of these three procedures, the conventional open surgery procedure is traumatic, and leaves ugly scars in the neck area for life while taking a longer time to recover. In most cases, oral cancer surgery involves neck dissection or neck lymph node. Surgery may or may not be followed by radiotherapy or chemo-radiotherapy.

Dr Sandeep Nayak is an accomplished robotic and laparoscopic surgeon with expertise in performing minimally invasive robotic surgeries. He has developed theaward winning technique of RIA-MIND (robotic infra-clavicular approach for minimally invasive neck dissection) surgery, which is most helpful in treating oral cancers especially that of tongue, lip and cheek. Hence, every patient with oral cancer has an option of a minimally invasive approach using the robotic platform that allows the operating surgeon to get a magnified view of the surgical area and more access to the tumor for removing. This surgery is performed using very small cuts. There is minimal blood loss and post surgery trauma and the patient is discharged in a couple of days.  

He narrates the case of a 35 year old lady with a wound over the tongue for past month which did not heal. She underwent a biopsy which showed cancer. She came to Dr Nayak with this report in later part of October 2022 and then underwent an MRI scan to assess the extent of the disease. Dr Nayak performed the RIA-MIND procedure following which she was discharge in 2 days. She recovered completely from the surgery and is going to get radiation therapy in the next few days.

A tongue cancer surgery performed using the RIA-MIND technique leaves no visible wounds, especially in front of the neck and delivers excellent results with early recovery.

Dr Sandeep Nayak is one of Bangalore's most experienced surgical oncologists dedicated to treating cancer patients holistically. He has acquired considerable experience performing robotic surgeries, which are minimally invasive surgical techniques that deliver impeccable recovery outcomes. With nearly two decades of experience, he has established MACS, a dedicated cancer treatment clinic in Bangalore, wherein he and his multidisciplinary team are available to offer their expert opinion to visiting cancer patients.

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