The influence of laser arytenoidectomy on ventilation parameters in patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis

Bilateral vocal cord paralysis is a symptom that may lead to serious breathing problems. The treatment of patients with vocal cord paralysis presents a challenge to otolaryngologists. Many techniques have been developed in an attempt to improve the patient's airway insufficiency. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of the laser total unilateral arytenoidectomy with posterior cordectomy in patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Thrity-six patients (33 females, 3 male) aged between 24 and 76 (mean 52) were treated by laser arytenoidectomy. The flow-volume loop and pletysmography were performed in all patients before and after the operation. Additionally, a group of 15 patients with unilateral vocal cord paralysis was introduced and analyzed as a special control. Based on the relative increase of the parameters after the surgery, the most useful of them were selected for the evaluation. Also, the character of the laryngeal obstruction was defined. Changes in the flow-volume loop before and after surgery were compared by planned comparison in univariate analysis ANOVA/MANOVA with an isolated control group. As the parameters AREA(EX), FEF50, FEF75, PEF and MMEF75/25 increased most effectively, they appeared to be the most useful in the evaluation. FIV1/FEF1, FEF50/FIF50 and FEV1/FEV0,5 allowed the definition of the obstruction as an extrathoracic dynamically variable quantity. The resistances measured during pletysmography diminished significantly after surgery. The introduction of the special control group with unilateral vocal cord paralysis showed that despite the significant improvement after surgery, the patients who had been operated on still had a laryngeal obstruction worse than that of patients from the control group. The laser arytenoidectomy is shown to be a useful and efficacious procedure for bilateral vocal cord paralysis.