BACKGROUND Given the results of the Department of Veterans Affairs Laryngeal Cancer Study Group investigations in the 1990s and the subsequent publication of the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group 91-11 (RTOG 91-11) study in 2003, treatment for advanced staged laryngeal carcinoma has focused on organ preservation strategies involving chemotherapy and radiation. Analysis of these studies reveals t...

BACKGROUND The role of pectoralis major muscle flap (PMMF) in reducing the rate of pharyngocutaneous fistula after salvage total laryngectomy has not been clearly established. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of PMMF in reducing pharyngocutaneous fistula rates after total laryngectomy. METHODS The analyzed intervention was the use of a PMMF after total laryngectomy. RESU...

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Elective neck dissection for the clinically negative neck is often a matter of debate. A decision-analysis model that was published in 1994 established the widely accepted principle that neck dissection is warranted when the risk for occult metastases is higher than 20%. The aim of the present study was to build a specific and up-to-date decision-analysis model to determin...

We were pleased to read Paleri and coauthors’ article “Vascularized Tissue to Reduce Fistula Following Salvage Total Laryngectomy: A Systematic Review” published in The Laryngoscope’s August 2014 issue. The review found a decrease in the rate of pharyngocutaneous fistulas by one third in salvage laryngectomy patients treated with a vascularized flap. Our group has previously published on this m...

Aim of this investigation was to analyse the voice in a group of 20 patients submitted to supracricoid partial laryngectomy (cricohyoidopexy, sparing two arytenoids) by the Multi Dimensional Voice Programme acoustic analysis system. Results revealed the following sound characteristics: high rate of noise, lack of periodic component of the signal, high rate of segments with no sound signal, voca...

Chondrosarcoma of the larynx: a report of two cases and a review of the literature. This paper describes two cases of low-grade laryngeal chondrosarcoma. In both cases, the tumours were located on the cricoid, and could be visualized with a CT scan and magnetic resonance imaging. The diagnosis was made by a deep wedge biopsy with a CO2 laser, and after subtotal supracricoid laryngectomy. Most o...

IMPORTANCE No consensus exists as to the best technique, or techniques, to optimize wound healing, decrease pharyngocutaneous fistula formation, and shorten both hospital length of stay and time to initiation of oral intake after salvage laryngectomy. We sought to combine the recent experience of multiple high-volume institutions, with different reconstructive preferences, in the management of ...

IMPORTANCE Patients undergoing total laryngectomy are at high risk for hospital readmission. Hospital readmissions are increasingly scrutinized because they are used as a metric of quality care and are subject to financial penalties. OBJECTIVE To determine the rate of, reasons for, and risk factors that predict 30-day unplanned readmission for patients undergoing total laryngectomy. DESIGN,...