Abstract
BACKGROUND: Management and preservation of the soft palate is dependent on clinical stage and tumor histology. However, available literature is scarce regarding the palate preservation with the use of laser CO₂. OBJECTIVES: We report the results obtained after management with laser surgery and soft palate preservation in three patients with salivary gland neoplasms. METHOD: Three patients with minor salivary gland tumors were treated by means of transoral laser microsurgery. All tumors were assessed using magnetic resonance imaging. All tumors were >3 cm. Soft palate function was preserved and reconstruction was performed with primary closure. Patients began oral feeding the same day and were discharged after 24 h. CONCLUSIONS: Transoral laser microsurgery is recommended for treatment of soft palate tumors. This treatment can be considered a better option when compared with other modalities such as radio- or chemoradiotherapy which require a longer time of treatment, are more expensive and tend to produce significant toxicity.