2005 Volume 56 Issue 1 Pages 23-27
Unilateral laryngeal paralysis is a disease often encountered in daily otorhinolaryngological practice. A wide variety of surgical procedures have been applied. We herein report satisfactory results using direct pull of the lateral cricoarytenoid muscle. The subjects were seven patients who had been diagnosed with unilateral laryngeal paralysis at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Tokyo Medical University, between October 2002 and September 2003. All underwent direct pull of the lateral cricoarytenoid muscle. Maximum phonation time (MPT) and GRBAS scales before and after surgery were compared. MPT improved in all seven patients, and GRBAS scales improved in five patients including those with mild conditions. After surgery, the scales improved to G (0) in four and G (1) in one. These result suggest that direct pull of the lateral cricoarytenoid muscle may be applied widely to mild as well as severe cases, and is an effective procedure to treat unilateral laryngeal paralysis.
