Abstract
Initial thyroplasty type I was performed on five patients with high risk thyroid cancer who had resections to their recurrent laryngeal nerves due to invasion. The parients ranged from 75 to 87 years of age. The histopathology was anaplastic carcinoma in one patient and papillary carcinoma in the other four patients. Tracheocutaneous fistulae were found in four patients. Postoperative maximum phonation time was from 9 to 16 seconds. Postoperative aspiration was not observed in all cases. The four patients without anaplastic carcinoma lived without cancer for at least two years after their operations. Initial thyroplasty type I in conjunction with surgery for thyroid cancer is useful, but the indication of this procedure should be done with caution.
