Incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury following esophagectomy in esophageal cancer patients

Abstract

Objective: To determine the incidence of recurrent laryngeal nerve injury (RLNI) in patients with esophageal cancer who have undergone esophagectomy. Materials and Methods: This was a prospective observational study that was conducted at the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery in Hayat Medical Complex, Peshawar. Non-probability consecutive sampling technique was used to select 62 patients with esophageal carcinoma. Patients with benign lesions, preoperative hoarseness of voice, or macroscopically advanced locoregional disease on preoperative evaluation were excluded. The study recorded data on age, gender, type of surgical procedure, and injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN). The association of RLN injury with age, gender, and type of surgery was evaluated using the chi-square test. Results: The study participants had a mean age of 34.97 ± 9.96 years. Males accounted for 35 (56.45%) of the patients, while females accounted for 27 (43.55%). The study found that 6 (9.68%) participants had RLN injury. There was a statistically significant association between age and RLN injury (p=0.018). RLN injury was more common in the older age groups, with 5 (83.33%) cases occurring in the 41-58 years age group and 1 (16.67%) case in the 26-40 years age group.