title: Vocal cord paralysis after surgery for thoracic aortic aneurysm.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the incidence, etiology, prognosis, and treatment of vocal cord paralysis (VCP) after surgery for thoracic aortic aneurysm (TAA).
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective study performed between 1989 and 1995.
  
  
  METHODS
  Academic, tertiary care, referral medical center.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-one TAA patients underwent surgery at the Kameda Medical Center between 1989 and 1995.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Sixty-two of 71 patients were examined postoperatively for voice quality. Twenty patients (32%) had hoarseness develop caused by VCP, as confirmed by laryngoscopy. The left recurrent laryngeal nerve had been sacrificed in 1 patient during surgery, but it was preserved in the remaining 19 patients. Unilateral left VCP was noted in 19 patients, and bilateral VCP occurred in 1 patient. The incidence of VCP was higher in those patients who underwent surgery for type I aneurysms (9 of 14 patients, 64%). In 16 of the 19 patients (84%) who received follow-up for > 6 months, vocal cord movement did not return to normal. Surgery to improve voice quality, arytenoid adduction in five patients and intracordal injection in two patients, was performed with success.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results indicate that surgery for TAA is associated with a relatively high incidence of VCP. VCP occurred despite preservation of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, and the paralysis did not show a spontaneous recovery even 6 months after surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tokyo, Tokyo.
authors.forename: Shin-Ichi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ishimoto
authors.forename: Ken
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Ito
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Toyama
authors.forename: Isamu
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kawase
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kondo
authors.forename: Kiyoshi
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oshima
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Niimi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D017545:Aortic Aneurysm, Thoracic / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011183:Postoperative Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*