Thyroid cartilage flap reconstruction of the larynx following vertical partial laryngectomy: an interim report.

A supraglottic thyroid cartilage flap was used to reconstruct vertical partial laryngectomy defects in seven patients, including three radiation failures. Local control was maintained in six of seven patients, with one radiation failure recurring in the subglottis and anterior neck skin. Reconstructively, the radiation failures healed more slowly, but all patients were decannulated in 1 to 4 weeks with normal deglutition. The majority of the ipsilateral arytenoid was preserved in two patients. In the first case, the thyroid cartilage flap was shortened and sutured to the cut surface of the arytenoid. This patient later developed laryngeal stenosis. In the second case, a muscle flap was used to reconstruct the cord, and the thyroid cartilage flap was used externally. This was successful, and we prefer this modification of the Bailey procedure when the arytenoid is preserved.