Glottic airway gain after 'suture arytenoid laterofixation' in bilateral vocal cord paralysis.
CONCLUSIONS
This method is an easy, non-expensive, and effective technique in bilateral vocal cord paralysis to improve glottic airway and clinical performance.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the effectiveness of 'suture arytenoid laterofixation' surgery in bilateral vocal cord paralysis.


METHODS
A retrospective analysis of patients' medical history undergoing 'suture arytenoid laterofixation' surgery for bilateral vocal cord paralysis. This technique was applied under general anesthesia with both microlaryngoscopy and video-monitoring. Two 16 g needles and one 1/0 nylon thread were used for the procedure with 1 cm skin incision; no tracheotomy or tissue excision was required. Pre-post-operative photographs of the glottic region were taken from the endoscopic records, and the areas of rima glottis openings were calculated with the Image-J programme.


RESULTS
Forty-seven patients were analyzed. The mean pre-post-operative rima glottis areas were 1.11 ± 0.56 and 2.24 ± 0.93 mm(2), respectively (p < 0.001). Five patients with previous tracheotomy were decannulated within a few days after the operation. In three patients, mild complications developed in the early post-operative period (two laryngeal edemas, one submucosal hematoma). Tracheotomy was performed to only one pregnant patient in the post-operative first day. None of the patients had granulation formation or synechia.
Department of Otolaryngology and Head & Neck Surgery, Medical Faculty, Yıldırım Beyazıt University , Ankara , Turkey.
Mehmet Hakan
MH
Korkmaz
Ömer
Ö
Bayır
Emel Çadallı
EÇ
Tatar
Güleser
G
Saylam
Bülent
B
Öcal
Kemal
K
Keseroğlu
Ali
A
Özdek
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001193:Arytenoid Cartilage / Q000601:surgery*; D005260:Female; D005931:Glottis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007828:Laryngoscopy; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013536:Suture Techniques; D013537:Sutures; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D020535:Video-Assisted Surgery; D014826:Vocal Cord Paralysis / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000601:surgery*
Bilateral vocal cord paralysis; arytenoid; lateralization; laterofixation; suture arytenoid laterofixation