{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T10:18:19Z","timestamp":1783419499353,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":40,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"13","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783382400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Treatment of cleft lip alveolus and\/or palate includes surgical repair to treat communication-related outcomes such as velopharyngeal insufficiency and otological dysfunction. Robot-assisted surgery has recently evolved into a promising adjunct to conventional surgery, particularly for complex procedures such as transoral (reconstructive) surgery. This structured literature review aims to investigate whether robot-assisted transoral cleft palate repair enhances communication (i.e., speech and otological) outcomes compared to conventional manual cleft palate surgery. A literature search was performed using PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library and Google Scholar. Primary outcomes were the change in cleft speech characteristics and otological disease after robot-assisted cleft palate surgery versus manual cleft palate surgery. The available evidence on communication-related outcomes remains sparse. Six relevant articles were included. In only one study, transoral robotic cleft surgery (TORCS) significantly reduced otitis media with effusion (OME), need for ventilation tubes and hearing threshold within 2 years post-surgery. No postoperative speech or velopharyngeal outcomes were reported. In conclusion, transoral robotic cleft surgery (TORCS) appears safe and feasible for repair of a cleft palate. It provides superior intraoral view and improved surgeon ergonomics. Current drawbacks are the costs and the available tools, the extended surgical duration and the lack of haptic feedback, which limit the current clinical applicability of TORCS. Based on limited clinical evidence, TORCS may support faster recovery of Eustachian tube function and hearing, but no conclusions on speech outcomes can yet be drawn.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s26134308","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T09:53:46Z","timestamp":1783418026000},"page":"4308","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Transoral Robotic Cleft Palate Surgery: Communication-Related Outcomes and Feasibility"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"26","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0009-1679-0119","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Tim Frederik Peter","family":"Ritzen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Cleft Team, Maastricht University Medical Centre, MosaKids Children\u2019s Hospital, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Jill","family":"Goris","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Cleft Team, Maastricht University Medical Centre, MosaKids Children\u2019s Hospital, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0008-2681-448X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Lisa E.","family":"Ramaut","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Cleft Team, University Hospital Brussels, KidzHealthCastle Children\u2019s Hospital, Brussels Health Campus, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Free University Brussels, Brussels Health Campus, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Darren I.","family":"Booi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Cleft Team, Maastricht University Medical Centre, MosaKids Children\u2019s Hospital, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3904-118X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Ren\u00e9 R. W. J.","family":"van der Hulst","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Cleft Team, Maastricht University Medical Centre, MosaKids Children\u2019s Hospital, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Moustapha","family":"Hamdi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Cleft Team, University Hospital Brussels, KidzHealthCastle Children\u2019s Hospital, Brussels Health Campus, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Free University Brussels, Brussels Health Campus, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nasser","family":"Nadjmi","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cranio-Maxillofacial Surgery, Cleft Team, Antwerp University Hospital, Drie Eikenstraat 665, 2650 Antwerp, Belgium"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Health Sciences, University of Antwerp, Prinsstraat 13, 2000 Antwerp, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3730-2075","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rutger M.","family":"Schols","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Hand Surgery, Cleft Team, Maastricht University Medical Centre, MosaKids Children\u2019s Hospital, P. Debyelaan 25, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Universiteitssingel 40, 6229 ER Maastricht, The Netherlands"},{"name":"Department of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgery, Cleft Team, University Hospital Brussels, KidzHealthCastle Children\u2019s Hospital, Brussels Health Campus, Laarbeeklaan 101, 1090 Brussels, Belgium"},{"name":"Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Free University Brussels, Brussels Health Campus, Laarbeeklaan 103, 1090 Brussels, Belgium"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"488","DOI":"10.1016\/S0266-4356(96)90242-9","article-title":"The incidence of oral clefts: A review","volume":"34","author":"Derijcke","year":"1996","journal-title":"Br. J. Oral Maxillofac. 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Surg."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"571","DOI":"10.1016\/j.fsc.2025.07.007","article-title":"Primary Cleft Palate Management and Repair","volume":"33","author":"Debs","year":"2025","journal-title":"Facial Plast. Surg. Clin. N. Am."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"189","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cps.2013.12.005","article-title":"Cleft palate repair","volume":"41","author":"Smith","year":"2014","journal-title":"Clin. Plast. Surg."},{"key":"ref_7","first-page":"e42370","article-title":"Robotic Surgery: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature and Current Trends","volume":"15","author":"Echevarria","year":"2023","journal-title":"Cureus"},{"key":"ref_8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"e6744","DOI":"10.1097\/GOX.0000000000006744","article-title":"Pilot Study: RoboticScope (Robotic Microscope)\u2013assisted Primary Cleft Palate Surgery","volume":"13","author":"Mokhtar","year":"2025","journal-title":"Plast. Reconstr. Surg. Glob. 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Surg."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/26\/13\/4308\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T10:04:16Z","timestamp":1783418656000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/26\/13\/4308"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]},"references-count":40,"journal-issue":{"issue":"13","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]}},"alternative-id":["s26134308"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s26134308","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]]}}}