Abstract
Hoarseness due to laryngeal nerve injury is a known complication after cardiothoracic surgery involving the aortic arch. However, this complication is only rarely reported after catheter interventions. In this article we present the unusual case of a left sided vocal cord paralysis in four patients after primary stenting of a recoarctation, redilatation of a stented coarctation, a primary stenting of the left pulmonary artery and prestenting for percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation with dilation of the left pulmonary artery (LPA). After implanting bare metal stents, it is common practice, whilst contemplating the diameters of the adjacent structures, to optimize the stent diameter in a two-step procedure and dilate the stent until a maximum diameter is achieved and there is no residual gradient after applying this technique. Four of our patients experienced hoarseness after the intervention and a vocal cord paralysis was diagnosed. Angiography revealed no signs of extravasation or dissection. Clinical symptoms improved over the course of the following 6 months; patients with interventions at the aortic arch showed a complete remission, patients with procedures involving the LPA showed only mild regression of the symptoms. To our knowledge, this complication (Ortner-Syndrome, cardiovocal syndrome) after such interventions has rarely been reported before. Although a rare complication, the recognition of these symptoms may support colleagues in managing affected patients. In addition, awareness for hoarseness after interventional therapies and systematic screening for this complication might help to identify patients at risk in the future.
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Disclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.