Laryngeal papillomas yield to 'fine tool' laser

Abstract

ABSTRACT Destruction of laryngeal papillomas with the CO2 laser has yielded dramatically improved remission rates in a group of patients previously treated by the more traditional cup forceps removal technique.According to a report presented at the annual meeting of the American Laryngological Association in Palm Beach, Fla, 45 (41%) of 109 patients in a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) laser therapy program were free of disease at follow-up examinations conducted two months to five years after treatment. Their average remission period has now exceeded eight months. Of 12 who arrived with tracheotomy tubes in place, six have had the tubes removed in the course of laser therapy.All of the 109 had previously undergone multiple cup forceps removals of their papillomas. In fact, before entering the laser program they had undergone a total of 1,050 such removals, an average of ten each, without eradication of their disease.Two