Phonatory Functions after ArytenoidAdduction and That When Combined with Ansa Cervicalisto Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Anastomosisor Type I Thyroplasty

Abstract

Dysphonia due to unilateral vocal fold immobility (UVFI) can have detrimental effects on quality of patients’ daily lives (QOL). Arytenoid adduction and type I thyroplasty are widely accepted treatment methods for UVFI. However, postoperative voice does not always reach ‘normal’ although dysphonia is improved to a certain degree. The reasons for this unsatisfactory result may be originated from subtle failures to locate the immobile vocal fold (IVF) at the median position and to augment the IVF with the same thickness and tension as that on the healthy side. We started to combine reinnervation procedure with arytenoid adduction to acquire ‘near-normal’ postoperative voice. Phonatory Functions after Arytenoid Adduction and That When Combined with Ansa Cervicalis to Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Anastomosis or Type I Thyroplasty Eiji Yumoto, MD*, Tetsuji Sanuki, MD, Yutaka Toya, MD and Narihiro Kodama Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Graduate School of Medicine, Kumamoto University