Soft-tissue complications of laser surgery for recurrent respiratory papillomatosis.
Twenty-two patients with recurrent respiratory papillomatosis underwent 105 carbon dioxide (CO2) laser microlaryngoscopic and tracheobronchoscopic operations from July 1986 through February 1990. All soft-tissue complications, whether intraoperative or delayed secondary to laser surgery, were retrospectively analyzed. The intraoperative laser-related soft-tissue complication rate was zero. Two of the 22 patients acquired slight unilateral true vocal cord scar tissue and 1 patient developed a small posterior laryngeal web. The delayed soft-tissue complication rate was 13.6%, which compares favorably with published reports of 28.7% and 45%. This low complication rate has resulted from the selection of appropriate CO2 laser emission parameters and the use of the microspot micromanipulator, which help minimize lateral and/or deep thermal damage at the site of laser impact.
Department of Otolaryngology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tenn 37232-2559.
R H
RH
Ossoff
J A
JA
Werkhaven
H
H
Dere
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003240:Connective Tissue Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007818:Laryngeal Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D007822:Laryngeal Neoplasms / Q000601:surgery*; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local; D010212:Papilloma / Q000601:surgery*; D011183:Postoperative Complications; D012189:Retrospective Studies