Selective cricothyroid muscle reinnervation by muscle-nerve-muscle neurotization.

OBJECTIVE To determine if selective reinnervation of the cricothyroid muscle could be achieved with muscle-nerve-muscle neurotization. DESIGN Case series. SETTING Tertiary referral center. PATIENTS Three consecutive patients with high vagal lesions that resulted in unilateral laryngeal paralysis. INTERVENTIONS Patients underwent laryngeal reinnervation with ansa hypoglossi to recurrent laryngeal nerve anastomosis. In addition, patients underwent selective cricothyroid muscle reinnervation by muscle-nerve-muscle neurotization technique. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Objective and subjective improvement in voice quality and electromyographic evidence of selective reinnervation of the cricothyroid muscle. RESULTS All patients recovered normal or near-normal speaking voice and had normal objective measures of voice quality. They also showed electromyographic evidence of cricothyroid muscle reinnervation. CONCLUSION The muscle-nerve-muscle neurotization technique was successful in providing selective reinnervation of the cricothyroid muscle in our 3 patients.