title: Arytenoid adduction to treat impaired adduction of the vocal fold due to rheumatoid arthritis.
abstract: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease affecting the synovial membrane and causing joint damage and bone destruction. The symptoms of cricoarytenoid joint (CJ) arthritis often include hoarseness, and a sense of pharyngeal fullness in the throat. Sometimes, in cases with bilateral CJ involvement, an urgent tracheostomy might be required for acute airway obstruction. In this report, we describe a woman suffering from aphonia due to hampered adduction of the vocal fold which was caused by RA with unilateral CJ involvement. Arytenoid adduction surgery on the affected side was performed. She retrieved a normal voice immediately after the surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kumamoto University, 1-1-1 Honjo, Kumamoto 860-8556, Japan. kumaiyoshihiko@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Yoshihiko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kumai
authors.forename: Daizo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Murakami
authors.forename: Masako
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Masuda
authors.forename: Eiji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Yumoto
mesh_terms: D001044:Aphonia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D001172:Arthritis, Rheumatoid / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery; D001193:Arytenoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D003413:Cricoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008875:Middle Aged; D010699:Phonation / Q000502:physiology; D013018:Sound Spectrography; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D014833:Voice Quality / Q000502:physiology