We highly commend the efforts of Sinclair et al1 in bringing an important yet frequently overlooked facet of transoral robotic surgery (TORS)—patient perceptions and functional outcomes relating to quality-of-life measures—into the spotlight. The authors used a subjective measure of swallowing function from the M. D. Anderson Dysphagia Inventory to assess patient-perceived dysphagia-specific quality-of-life outcomes in patients treated with TORS. However, an objective measure of dysphagia must be used to ascertain the functional impact of head and neck cancer treatment modalities. The penetration-aspiration scale (PAS) and the modified barium swallow provide excellent techniques for assessing swallowing function and risk of aspiration.