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Laryngeal pacemaker. II. Electronic pacing of reinnervated posterior cricoarytenoid muscles in the canine
Author(s) -
Broniatowski Michael,
Kaneko Satoru,
Jacobs Gordon,
Nose Yukihiko,
Tucker Harvey M.
Publication year - 1985
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1288/00005537-198510000-00008
Subject(s) - medicine , superior laryngeal nerve , anatomy , larynx , recurrent laryngeal nerve , thyroid
A fully reliable means of rehabilitating patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis has not yet been developed. In order to improve upon existing solutions to this problem, the authors have recently described a laryngeal pacemaker, initially tested through stimulation of a cross‐over nerve‐muscle pedicle from one sternohyoid muscle to the other in the canine. Afferent stimuli, initiated through elongation of the airway during inspiration, were detected by a linear strain gauge sutured to the tracheal rings and appropriately amplified. The current report deals with the application of this concept to pace a nerve‐muscle pedicle reinnervating the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle. Videoscopie and cinematographic documentation of electrically paced abduction of the reinnervated vocal fold, synchronous with inspiration, was clearly demonstrated. Only miniaturization of an implantable electronic amplifier remains to permit an attempt at pacing of the paralyzed larynx in humans.