[The results of surgical treatment of patients with laryngeal carcinoma in years 1988-1989 in four departments of otorhinolaryngology].

In a group of 579 patients with laryngeal carcinoma treated surgically in years 1988-1989 in four departments of otorhinolaryngology of the Medical Academies in Poznań, Warsaw, Cracow and Lublin, 72% survived 3 years without recurrence and 59% survived 5 years. Similar results were obtained in years 1986-1987. The authors discuss in detail the reasons for failures of the surgical treatment, i.e.: supraglottic localization of the cancer, its extensiveness in the larynx, the stage of clinical development, general condition of the patient, effectiveness of the operation, regularity of postsurgical examination, the degree of histological malignancy, blood transfusion during the operation, distant metastases, little efficiency of medical service in early diagnosis of laryngeal cancer, avoiding postsurgical radiation, subjective factors of the patients and the choice of the optimal method of the treatment. Few patients can be cured if the initial treatment fails.