Abstract
Introduction: Unilateral vocal cord palsy is more common than the bilateral cases. The left side is more affected than the right side owing the longer course of the Left recurrent laryngeal nerve. Iatrogenic causes for example thyroidectomy or cardiac surgery predominate the etiology of its incidence.Methods: A review of medical case record.Results: A 68-year-old man presented with voice change for one month duration. It was associated with occasional shortness of breath. Examination showed unilateral Left vocal cord palsy. Further investigation revealed a huge anterior mediastinal mass. A CT-guided biopsy was performed and histopathologically confirmed as adenocarcinoma.Conclusion: Any lesion in the course of recurrent laryngeal nerve can lead to vocal cord palsy and change of voice. A metastatic lesion to mediastinal nodes even though very rare can be one of them. Mediastinal lymphoma is one of its differential diagnoses.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol.17(1) 2018 p.172-174
Highlights
Unilateral vocal cord palsy is more common than the bilateral cases
It is seen in this case whereby the left vocal cord palsy was not compensated by the normally functioning right side
Solitary nodule in the gland can present with unilateral vocal cord palsy, even sometimes in a clinically normal neck on palpation[2,3]
Summary
Unilateral vocal cord palsy is more common than the bilateral cases. The left side is more affected than the right side owing the longer course of the Left recurrent laryngeal nerve. Introduction Unilateral vocal cord palsy can be attributed to many factors. Besides neck trauma and iatrogenic damage to the intact nerve during surgery to the thyroid or mediastinum, the presence of any lesion along the course of the recurrent laryngeal nerve can results in direct compression or invasion to the neural integrity[1]. Laryngoscopy showed uncompensated unilateral Left vocal cord palsy.
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