It is known that some pathologic situations may produce a deviation of the larynx, showing lateral displacement of the anterior commissure on mirror examination and distortion of the thyroid cartilage on palpation of the neck. When laryngeal deviation with no apparent cause is observed, it should be labeled idiopathic laryngeal deviation.
The author has seen more than a few cases of idiopathic laryngeal deviation, and most cases were male patients over 50 years of age with deviations to the right. The thyroid notch deviates to the right, the anterior crest of the thyroid cartilage inclines toward the right and the larynx as a whole may twist to the right around the body axis, making the deviation three-dimensional.
The possibility of the association of laryngeal deviation with cancer of the larynx or hypopharynx must be emphasized. In associated cases, the extent of cancer may not be properly estimated in the staging process and a correct therapeutic strategy may not be established unless the characteristic findings of laryngeal deviation are well understood by the examiner.
In this paper, several typical findings of laryngeal deviation are mentioned and problems in staging the cancer associated with it are discussed.
