Department of General, Oncological and Endocrine Surgery, Medical University of Lodz, Polish Mother's Memorial Hospital-Research Institute, No 281/289, The Rzgowska St, 93-338 Lodz, Poland.
Langenbecks Arch Surg. 2010 Sep;395(7):859-64. doi: 10.1007/s00423-010-0694-2. Epub 2010 Jul 20.
The aim of the study was to evaluate the functionality of vocal folds (VF) by real-time, high-resolution ultrasonography (US) and to correlate the imaged features to results of laryngological examination (LE).
The study group comprised 50 patients (41 females and nine males), qualified to thyroidectomy. All the patients had LE and US examination before and 2 days, 2 months, and 3 months after the surgery. We used high-resolution US imaging to identify VFs and, subsequently, a pulsed Doppler and Doppler gate to quantify the tissue displacement velocity in the vibrating VF section.
LE revealed unilateral VF paralysis in two patients. VF dysfunction was diagnosed in other four subjects. In simultaneously performed US examination, changes in VF displacement velocity (VFDV) were observed in ten patients. In two subjects, VFDV was below 30 cm/s- patients with VF paralysis, diagnosed in LE. In a further eight cases, we observed VFDV decrease by 50%, comparing to preoperative values. Both US-imaging and LE, performed after the 3-month follow-up, confirmed the transitional character of the above-mentioned pathologies.
US imaging of the VFs correlated with LE results, while being a minimally invasive, easily reproducible, and inexpensive method of examining VF functionality. Thanks to many recording options, it may soon become a perfect tool for an early identification of postoperative VF dysfunction with its later monitoring. To our knowledge, it is the first application of US and Doppler gate modes for VFDF quantification; however, an analysis on a larger group of patients is necessary to standardize the technique.
本研究旨在通过实时高分辨率超声（US）评估声带（VF）的功能，并将成像特征与喉镜检查（LE）结果相关联。
研究组包括 50 名患者（41 名女性和 9 名男性），均符合甲状腺切除术条件。所有患者在手术前、手术后 2 天、2 个月和 3 个月均进行了 LE 和 US 检查。我们使用高分辨率 US 成像来识别 VF，随后使用脉冲多普勒和多普勒门来量化振动 VF 节段中的组织位移速度。
LE 显示两名患者单侧 VF 麻痹。另外四名患者诊断为 VF 功能障碍。在同时进行的 US 检查中，观察到 10 名患者的 VF 位移速度（VFDV）发生变化。在两名患者中，VFDV 低于 30cm/s-LE 诊断为 VF 麻痹。在另外 8 例中，我们观察到 VFDV 与术前相比降低了 50%。LE 与术后 3 个月的 US 成像均证实了上述病变的过渡性质。
VF 的 US 成像与 LE 结果相关，同时作为一种微创、可重复、经济的 VF 功能检查方法。由于有许多记录选项，它可能很快成为识别术后 VF 功能障碍及其后续监测的理想工具。据我们所知，这是首次应用 US 和多普勒门模式对 VFDF 进行量化分析；然而，需要对更大的患者群体进行分析，以规范该技术。
