title: Lysis of interarytenoid synechia (Type I Posterior Glottic Stenosis): vocal fold mobility and airway results.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Type I Posterior Glottic Stenosis (PGS-I) is a well-described but uncommon clinical entity. Despite this, there is little known about the outcome of surgical treatment.
  
  
  METHODS
  Retrospective case series.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Thirteen cases met inclusion criteria. All but one patient had a tracheostomy at the time of initial evaluation. At the postoperative visit, seven patients (54%) had completely normal vocal fold motion. Of the verbal patients, 6 (50%) had normal vocal function as reported by both the patient/caregiver and the physician, and 10 (83%) patients were successfully decannulated.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients with an isolated interarytenoid synechia have an excellent prognosis with regard to decannulation. Although many patients regain normal vocal fold motion and a return to their preintubation vocal function, a significant proportion can have persistent deficits in vocal fold mobility and some level of dysphonia. This report represents the largest known series of PGS-I cases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otolaryngology Head & Neck Surgery, University of Washington, Seattle, Washington 98195-6515, USA. meyertk@uw.edu
authors.forename: Tanya K
authors.initials: TK
authors.lastname: Meyer
authors.forename: Jeffrey
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wolf
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003251:Constriction, Pathologic / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005931:Glottis / Q000473:pathology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy / Q000379:methods*; D007829:Laryngostenosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D053685:Laser Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D035583:Rare Diseases; D020127:Recovery of Function; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D014139:Tracheostomy / Q000379:methods; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D014827:Vocal Cords / Q000503:physiopathology; D055815:Young Adult