RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: This case report discusses a successful emergency Lichtenberger lateralisation procedure after immediate bilateral laryngeal immobility, occurring after total thyroidectomy. METHODS: A 63-year-old female with right-sided vocal fold paralysis due to compression by a multinodular thyroid goitre underwent total thyroidectomy, which resulted in immediate post-operative bilateral vocal fold immobility. The patient had acute-onset post-operative dyspnoea, was promptly re-intubated, and an emergency lateralisation Lichtenberger suture was placed over the right vocal fold and fixated on the outer surface of the neck. RESULTS: After two weeks, her right vocal fold recovered first, with the suture still in place. At four weeks, both vocal folds regained function and the suture was extracted. CONCLUSION: The take-away message is that an emergency lateralisation suture may be a viable option in maintaining airway patency, while allowing for normal deglutition, in patients who would otherwise be candidates for prolonged intubation, posterior cordotomy, medial arytenoidectomy or tracheostomy.
