Voice preservation technique in the surgical treatment of postcricoid cancer.

In patients with freedom from invasion to anterior half of the larynx in postcricoid and cervical esophageal cancer, reconstruction of vocal tract with preservation of the anterior half of the larynx is applied with oncologic rationality and we performed the procedure in three cases of T2N1. At neck dissection bilateral superior thyroid neurovascular pedicles and unilateral inferior thyroid vessels were preserved. The larynx and upper part of the trachea were devided on the frontal plane and the posterior half with the hypopharynx and cervical esophagus was removed. The anterior half of the part was preserved and the mucosal edges of the cut surface extending from the appropriate margin of membranous portion of the trachea to the aryepiglottic folds were longitudinally approximated to reconstruct a thin tube to rehabilitate the voice. The pharyngoesophagus was replaced by either deltopectoral flap or forearm flap. Postoperative aspiration was minimal and voice rehabilitation was satisfactory.