Background. Transoral robotic surgery (TORS) and transoral laser microsurgery (TOLM) plus neck dissection are viable alternatives to radiotherapy as a treatment modality in select cases of oropharyngeal squamous cell carcinoma. Life-threatening bleeding in the peri-operative period is a known risk of oropharyngeal resection, and therefore many centres advocate for elective ligation of the feeding arteries at index neck dissection prior to TORS/TOLM to mitigate the risk of catastrophic perioperative haemorrhage. The lingual artery is the second anterior branch of the external carotid artery (ECA) and ascends within the anterolateral neck to provide arterial supply to the tongue. While there are multiple cadaveric studies in the literature to identify the lingual artery at multiple points throughout its course, there are no studies on the intra-operative identification of the lingual artery for elective ligation prior to TORS/TOLM. Methods. A retrospective review of all patients undergoing neck dissection with vessel ligation prior to TORS. Lingual artery was identified at its origin, and relation to hypoglossal nerve was recorded. Patient demographics, intra-operative findings including the relation between lingual artery and hypoglossal nerve measured in millimetres, and post-operative complications were extracted from medical records. Results. Of the 33 cases eligible for this study, the lingual artery was identified directly deep to the hypoglossal nerve in 21 cases (63.6%). Of the remaining cases, 7 were within 5mm inferior to the hypoglossal nerve (21.2%), and only 2 cases (6.1%) were identified superior to the hypoglossal nerve. Conclusion. The hypoglossal nerve is a useful landmark for the intra-operative identification of the lingual nerve in elective neck dissection prior to TORS. The lingual artery can be identified either immediately deep to or within 5mm inferior to the hypoglossal nerve in majority of cases.