Abstract
Laryngeal necrosis occurs rarely after radiation therapy for laryngeal cancer. We performed radiation therapy with a total dose of 68.2Gy on a 61-year-old man, whose larynx revealed partial necrosis two months later. Thyroid cartilage was exposed from the inside of the larynx and a piece of cartilage was also destroyed. We performed laryngomicrosurgery to remove the necrotic tissue and to confirm that there was no residual cancer. We administered clarithromycin and beraprost sodium for 102 days. Beraprost sodium is the first orally active prostacyclin analogue, and it has various biological activities including a vasodilation effect and a cytoprotective effect on endothelial cells. As a result, the inside of the larynx was covered by a healthy mucosa six months after radiation therapy. We cured the laryngeal necrosis without using steroids and thus were able to successfully preserve the function of the larynx.
