As there is no specific therapeutic method for“CANCER”even now, it is the most important that cancer is detected as early as possible.
For early diagnosis of the laryngeal cancer, different types of endoscopes are now used. Among them, we recommend a curved telescope for obtaining a magnified view of a part of the larynx. This scope is very effective for observing the anterior area which has a key point for us to determine a further treatment.
Generally speaking, cancer invaded membrane has a trend to become stiff. If the vocal fold is stiff, wave motion cannot be obtained on the surface of the vocal fold. Therefore, it is very important to observe the vocal fold stroboscopically during phonation. It is highly recommended that stroboscopic observation is videotaped for open demonstration and follow up study. When ordinary stroboscopy cannot be carried out for some reasons, for example, under general anesthesia, we perform a vibrator method which induces wave motion externally.
If the cancer is diagnosed on very early stage, the further treatment can be phonosurgically performed to some extent. Especially for younger patients, surgical methods are recommended rather than radiotherapy. Hence, laser surgery or cordectomy with displacement of the false vocal fold is now mainly carried out in our clinic.
