Vocal cord palsy ; Thyroid cancer ; Type I thyroplasty ; Arytenoid adduction ; Laryngeal EMG
Abstract
Objectives, Materials & Methods: To prevent deterioration of postoperative voice due to iatrogenic transection of the recurrent laryngeal nerve during the thyroid surgery, intraoperative medialization of the membranous vocal cord by type I thyroplasty together with direct epineurial neurorraphy was done on 2 cases of benign thyroid lesion. To improve the quality of voice together with complete removal of advanced thyroid carcinoma, intraoperative vocal cord medialization on the lesion side together with total thyroidectomy was done by type I thyroplasty in 2 cases and combined procedure by arytenoid adduction and type I thyroplasty in another 2 cases. Results: The resultant voice of the iatrogenic injury cases was relatively tolerable. The voice of the combined procedure was better than that of type I thyroplasty cases for the intraoperative rehabilitation cases. Not only for the preoperative evaluation of the severity of the nerve lesion but also the prognosis will be expected by use of laryngeal EMG in the cases of thyroid cacer with vocal cord palsy. Conclusion: Intraoperative simultaneous rehabilitation for the vocal cord palsy during thyroid surgery is beneficial for the patients.