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Transoral silastic medialization for unilateral vocal fold paralysis
Author(s) -
Atallah Ihab,
Manjunath MK,
Castellanos Paul F.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
head and neck
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.012
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1097-0347
pISSN - 1043-3074
DOI - 10.1002/hed.25774
Subject(s) - silastic , medicine , swallowing , surgery , arytenoid cartilage , thyroid cartilage , vocal cord paralysis , larynx , glottis , laryngoplasty , implant , dissection (medical) , paralysis , anesthesia
Background Medialization laryngoplasty has historically been performed through an external approach. The aim of our work is to demonstrate the feasibility of silastic vocal fold medialization transorally. Methods Patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis requiring medialization laryngoplasty were included in this report. Silastic medialization was done through a transoral approach. A supraglottic laryngotomy is performed followed by dissection and tunneling in the paraglottic space. Silastic implant is inserted into the tunnel to medialize the vocal fold and the ipsilateral arytenoid. The laryngotomy is tightly closed by endoscopic sutures. Results A consecutive series of 22 patients are reported. All patients had dysphonia with significant glottic insufficiency. After endoscopic silastic medialization, voice and swallowing were significantly improved ( P < .001). No postoperative complications or implant extrusion occurred in our series. Conclusion Silastic vocal fold medialization can be safely and effectively performed through a transoral approach with good results on voice and swallowing.