Abstract
One hundred and seventy patients with recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy were investigated. Males was more frequently affected. One hundred cases (59%) were studied etiologically. The most frequent etiological factor was thyroid cancer which was evident in 31 cases. Hoarseness was the most frequent complaint and only 3 patients complained of dyspnea. In 155 cases, the vocal cords were affected unilaterally, 110 cases on the left side, 45 on the right side, and 15 cases bilaterally. Conservative or surgical treatments were applied. Among conservative treatments, administration of steroids was effective for certain groups with recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy induced by intratracheal intubation and common cold. Intracordal injection of silicone or Woodman's operation was indicated for some patients followed-up conservatively for about 6 months or more without improvement.
