Utility of Optical Coherence Tomography for Guiding Laser Therapy Among Patients With Recurrent Respiratory Papillomatosis

Abstract

Recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP) is a viral-induced disease caused by human papillomavirus and the second leading cause of dysphonia in children; however, neither a cure nor a definitive surgical treatment is currently available for RRP. Although laser therapy is often used in the treatment of RRP, the lack of real-time laser-tissue interaction feedback undermines the ability of physicians to provide treatments with low morbidity. Therefore, an intraoperative tool to monitor and control laser treatment depth is needed. To investigate the potential of combining optical coherence tomography (OCT) with laser therapy for patient-tailored laryngeal RRP treatments. This in vivo study was performed at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary from February 1, 2017, to September 1, 2017. Three-dimensional OCT images were acquired before, during, and after photoangiolytic laser therapy in 10 pediatric patients with a history of papilloma growth who presented with lesions and hoarseness. Whether intraoperative OCT monitoring of changes in optical scattering and absorption provides quantitative information to control thermal damage in tissue. Among the 10 pediatric patients (age range, 4-11 years; 6 male) included in the study, high-resolution OCT images revealed epithelial hyperplasia with clear RRP lesion margins. Images acquired during therapy indicated coagulation deep in tissue, and posttherapy images showed the ability to quantify the amount of tissue ablated by the photoangiolytic laser. Concurrent use of OCT imaging and laser therapy may improve postoperative outcomes for patients with RRP by delivering an optimal, patient-tailored treatment. Additional studies investigating the correlation between optical properties with vocal outcomes are required.