Anatomo-surgical correlations in larynx cancer

OBJECTIVE Cancer remains a crucial problem of contemporary medicine and the principle is perfectly true regarding the laryngeal cancer. Laryngologists are constantly searching for laryngeal cancer to provide functional and oncological surgical techniques. Conservative surgery in laryngeal cancer tries to keep enough laryngeal lumen and maintain the main laryngeal functions: breath, phonation, swallowing, by using open surgical techniques. METHODS 412 patients with larynx neoplasms were operated by open surgical techniques between 1.01.2006 and 31.12. 2008 in the ENT Clinic of "Colţea" Clinical Hospital. We selected 21 cases divided into three groups, each with 7 patients, to whom we have changed the type of surgery based on anatomical data. Careful preoperative selection is of outmost importance for the clinical outcome of the patients. Postoperative follow up was between 3 and 5 years. RESULTS All the patients are alive, decannulated; they feed orally and are fully socially integrated. CONCLUSIONS In the light of anatomical structures analysis, indications of partial laryngeal surgery may be extended from where it is now, to accepting only total laryngectomy.