Diagnosis and management with botulinum toxin in 11 cases of laryngeal synkinesis.

Laryngeal synkinesis is a vocal fold movement disorder produced by a misdirected reinnervation after a recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Its symptoms differ greatly between patients, requiring diverse therapeutical approaches. We aim to describe our experience in the diagnosis and treatment of different laryngeal synkinesis presentations. 11 patients diagnosed between 2011 and 2014 in a tertiary referral center with laryngeal synkinesis confirmed by laryngeal electromyography were included in our study. All medical records and laryngoscopic and electromyographic data were reviewed retrospectively. Four patients had previous unilateral vocal fold palsy and seven had a bilateral palsy with different degrees of clinical involvement. All of them showed paradoxical movements during inhalation in videofibrolaryngoscopic examination. Laryngeal electromyography confirmed the diagnosis of laryngeal synkinesis. Dyspnea was the main presentation symptom. Three patients with mild symptoms were not treated. Patients with unilateral vocal fold immobility were successfully treated with periodic botulinum toxin injections. Patients with bilateral immobility had a good initial response to botulinum toxin, although in some of them, a posterior cordectomy had to be finally performed. In conclusion, laryngeal synkinesis is a heterogeneous clinic entity that appears in patients with unilateral or bilateral vocal fold paralysis. Videofibrolaryngoscopy and laryngeal electromyography are essential to a correct diagnosis. Botulinum toxin injections are the main treatment for symptomatic cases, even if in bilateral palsy cases more aggressive treatments are often required.

[Laryngeal electromyography in diagnosis and treatment of voice disorders]. / Electromiografía laríngea en el diagnóstico y tratamiento de los trastornos de la voz.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Laryngeal electromyography, together with clinical evaluation, is a valuable tool in voice disorder management. It assesses the integrity of laryngeal nerves and muscles, contributing to the diagnosis of many diseases, especially laryngeal movement disorders. Our purpose was to describe the experience of the first Spanish series with laryngeal electromyography in evaluating voice disorders. METHODS: A prospective study was designed to evaluate laryngeal movement disorders with laryngeal electromyography. Both the cricothyroid and thyroarytenoid muscles were tested routinely and, in some cases, the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle. The laryngeal electromyography technique and result interpretation were performed by a laryngologist and a neurophysiologist. RESULTS: We included 110 patients, with the most common symptom being dysphonia. Laryngeal electromyography was performed in 85% of cases. Primary diagnosis before electromyography was laryngeal immobility. Positive predictive value for diagnosis in cases of paralysis was 88%. CONCLUSIONS: Laryngeal electromyography is a useful adjunct, together with clinical evaluation, for diagnosis and management of motion abnormalities in the larynx in patients who present with dysphonia.

Laryngeal function preservation following supracricoid partial laryngectomy.

BACKGROUND: Supracricoid partial laryngectomy is a surgical technique that preserves laryngeal function. METHODS: A retrospective review of clinical records identified 41 patients that underwent supracricoid partial laryngectomy at our institution since 1998. In all, 26 patients with a minimum follow-up of 3 months were alive with a functioning larynx. All of them accepted participation in a functional evaluation. RESULTS: Ninety-seven percent of the patients were decannulated, and every patient achieved oral intake. The 5-year actuarial laryngoesophageal dysfunction-free survival was 66.5%. Median Voice Handicap Index (VHI) score was 26, with 75% of patients scoring <40. The Median MD Anderson Dysphagia Inventory (MDADI) score was 92, with 75% of patients scoring ≥80. Median maximum phonation time (MPT) was 12 seconds. Median maximum intensity (Imax) was 99 dB. CONCLUSIONS: Supracricoid partial laryngectomy allows laryngeal function preservation at a rate similar to that of chemoradiation protocols. When a careful preoperative patient selection is performed, long-term functional results are outstanding. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2012.

[Parathyroid hormone as a predictor of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia]. / Valor predictivo de la paratohormona en la hipocalcemia postiroidectomía.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: The risk of developing hypocalcemia is the reason for prolonged hospitalisation after total thyroidectomy. The objective of this study was to validate parathyroid hormone measurement for predicting post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-two patients who underwent total or completion thyroidectomy from February 2009 to March 2010 were enrolled in this prospective study to determine the best timing and cutoff point of parathyroid hormone to predict hypocalcemia. Patients with any condition that could interfere with calcium homeostasis were excluded from the survey. Parathyroid hormone and serum calcium levels were determined preoperatively, immediately after surgery and a number of hours later. RESULTS: Treatment for hypocalcemia was required in 16.7% of patients. A percent of delayed decrease in parathyroid hormone was chosen as the best measurement to predict hypocalcemia. An 80% or higher decrease in delayed parathyroid hormone levels had 100% sensitivity (95% CI: 77.2-100%) and 87% specificity (95% CI: 77-93%) for selecting patients for early discharge. Using this test, 73.2% of the patients could have been discharged 24 hours after surgery. A 98% decrease in delayed parathyroid hormone levels could select candidates for early calcium replacement with 98.6% specificity (95% CI: 92.2-99.7%). CONCLUSIONS: The decrease in postoperative delayed parathyroid hormone levels is a good predictor of post-thyroidectomy hypocalcemia. A decrease of 80% or more in delayed parathyroid hormone level is a test with excellent sensibility and specificity for selecting candidates for early discharge. The 98% cutoff point has high specificity for selecting patients for early calcium replacement.

Oncologic outcomes after supracricoid partial laryngectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To review the oncologic outcomes of a series of supracricoid partial laryngectomy. DESIGN: Case series with chart review. SETTING: La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain. PATIENTS: Forty-one patients with glottic or supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma who underwent supracricoid partial laryngectomy between 1998 and 2008 at the authors' institution. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Local control rate, specific-disease survival rate, and overall survival rate. RESULTS: All patients were male, with a mean age of 56 years (range, 38-71 years). Forty-one percent of tumors were classified as locally advanced carcinomas (T3-T4). Thirty-three patients (80%) underwent supracricoid laryngectomy with cricohyoidoepiglottopexy. Epiglottis was resected in the remaining 8 patients. One patient died in the immediate postoperative period because of cardiac tamponade, 6 developed pneumonia, 2 had a postoperative bleeding that required reintervention, and 2 developed pharyngocutaneous fistula. The median follow-up period was 43 months. More than 85% of the patients completed more than 2 years of follow-up. Five-year actuarial local control rate was 80%, being 92% for T1-T2 tumors and 67% for locally advanced tumors. Thirty-five patients (85%) preserved their larynx. The 6 patients who underwent total laryngectomy had a local recurrence or a regional recurrence that infiltrated the larynx. No laryngectomy was performed for functional reasons. CONCLUSION: Supracricoid partial laryngectomy is an oncologically safe procedure to preserve laryngeal functions in selected patients with glottic and supraglottic carcinomas.

[Analysis of changes in the spectrogram following endotracheal intubation]. / Análisis de los cambios en el espectrograma tras la intubación endotraqueal.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: Voice alteration is a common event following endotracheal intubation. The objective of this study is to describe strobolaryngoscopic and spectrogram changes after endotracheal intubation, and attempt to identify a relationship between these changes and also with anaesthetic variables. MATERIAL AND METHOD: Thirty-eight patients who underwent endotracheal intubation for otological surgery were studied prospectively. None of these subjects had a history of voice problems or prior cervical surgery, and they did not consume alcohol or tobacco. The patients were studied prior to the operation and 3 hours, 24 hours, and 7 days after surgery. Laryngeal morphology was explored by strobolaryngoscopy. The vocal output was examined by means of the GRABS scale, acoustic analysis and spectrogram. RESULTS: Strobolaryngoscopy was normal 24 hours after surgery in all but 2 subjects, in whom it later returned to normal. Spectrography, acoustic analysis (jitter and shimmer), and GRABS scale all showed an initial worsening of voice production after surgery when compared to pre-operative values, followed by a recovery of normal values 1 week after surgery. No statistical correlation was found between voice output and anaesthetic variables. CONCLUSIONS: Although there are temporary voice changes in subjects undergoing endotracheal intubation during the early post-operative period, these recover to normal parameters within 7 days after surgery. These changes occur even in the absence of strobolaryngoscopic changes.

Oncologic and functional results of near-total laryngectomy.

OBJECTIVE: To report the oncologic and functional outcome of patients undergoing near-total laryngectomy. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: A retrospective analysis was carried out from 1991 through 1998. RESULTS: Eighty-seven patients underwent near-total laryngectomy. The Kaplan-Meier overall survival, cause-specific survival, and relapse-free survival estimates at 5 years were 48.2%, 75.8%, and 72.4%, respectively. Univariate analysis revealed prognosis significance for location, stage, and pathologic cervical lymph node status. Five percent of the patients developed local recurrence, 16% recurrence in cervical lymph nodes, and 10% distant metastasis. Pharyngocutaneous fistula was the most frequent complication (48%). Seventy-seven percent of cases achieved voice preservation. Symptomatic aspiration was noted in 12.3% of cases. CONCLUSION: Near-total laryngectomy can be a successful surgical procedure for selected patients; it does not replace total laryngectomy but reduces its indications. Voice preservation can be achieved in most cases. SIGNIFICANCE: Near-total laryngectomy enhances the speech rehabilitation options for the laryngectomy patient by adding a physiologic, nonprosthetic tissue technique.