Effects of Sequentially Combined Arytenoid Adduction and Injection Laryngoplasty in Patients With Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis.

OBJECTIVES

Arytenoid adduction (AA) and injection laryngoplasty (IL) are major surgical options for the treatment of unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). AA is a laryngeal framework surgery and IL is a soft-tissue augmentation procedure. Therefore, the effect of each intervention will not be substitutive but complementary to the other.

METHODS

Patients who received AA and IL were enrolled (N = 43). Mean age was 60.1 ± 12.7 years. Objective and subjective voice parameters including maximum phonation time (MPT), jitter, shimmer, noise to harmonic ratio (NHR), grade of dysphonia (G), and voice handicap index (VHI)-30 were collected preoperatively and 6 months postoperatively. AA and IL were sequentially performed with time interval; 28 (65.1%) patients received IL first followed by AA (IL+AA group) and 15 (34.9%) had AA followed by IL (AA+IL group). Time interval between first and second procedures was 9.9 ± 14.6 months.

RESULTS

MPT, jitter, shimmer, NHR, G and VHI-30 significantly improved by both first and second procedures (P < 0.001). When we evaluated IL+AA group and AA+IL group separately, the final outcomes of MPT, jitter, G, and VHI-30 between the two groups were not significantly different. When the overall effects of IL and AA were compared, MPT significantly improved with AA than with IL (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSION

In patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis, sequential AA and IL (or IL and AA) provided additional improvement of subjective and objective voice parameters. Final outcomes of the two combined procedures resulted in similar degree of voice improvement regardless of the order of procedure.