Background: Parastomal neoplasm after total laryngectomy for laryngeal carcinoma represents an extremely serious complication and one of the most formidable therapeutic problems encountered by the head and neck surgeon. Studies about the etiology of parastomal neoplasm have been controversial. The factors most strongly implicated in parastomal neoplasm have been recurrence spawned by metastases to deep cervical lymph nodes, undetected neoplasm at the margin of the laryngectomy resection, neoplastic cell implantation by pre-operative tracheotomy, and the development of an additional primary. Patients: To clarify the controversial aspects of parastomal neoplasm etiology, a systematic analysis of parastomal neoplasm after laryngectomy was performed using data from 10 patients who developed parastomal neoplasm. Results: Parastomal neoplasm occured in 7.9%. The tumor site of the primary laryngeal carcinoma was found in 9/10 cases in the subglottic, supraglottic, or transglottic area. These tumor sites correlate with areas of a lymphatic vessel concentration and an increase of intralaryngeal lymphatic drainage. In average the parastomal neoplasms appear 10.3 months after the laryngectomy. Therapy was unsuccessful in spite of extensive surgical interventions. Conclusions: If the laryngeal carcinoma was resected with margins of healthy tissue, lymphatic metastasis to the pretracheal and paratracheal cervical lymph nodes is the probable cause of parastomal neoplasm. This could be the consequence of the continuous lymphatic drainage between the supraglottic and subglottic area with a midline crossing and an lymphatic outlet to the pretracheal and paratracheal cervical lymph nodes. The cervical metastasis formation cannot be detected due to the limitations in the assessment of small lymph nodes and the inability to ascertain with confidence the presence or absence of metastasis in any one lymph node in ultrasonography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging and due to the limitations in the removal of lymph nodes in the pretracheal and paratracheal area by means of a functional or radical neck dissection. The method of treatment should be in cases of a subglottic or a supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma an ipsilateral and contralateral pretracheal and paratracheal lymph node removal in combination with the laryngectomy.
