Complications of supraglottic laryngectomy for carcinomas of the supraglottis and the base of the tongue

Relationship between dysphagia and surgical treatment for supraglottic laryngeal carcinoma: A meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

To systematically evaluate differences in swallowing disorder-related manifestations in patients with supraglottic laryngeal cancer, who underwent traditional open partial horizontal laryngectomy (OPHL) and endoscopic supraglottic laryngectomy (ESL).

METHODS

A systematic review of the literature and a meta-analysis were performed. The CNKI, Wan Fang, PubMed, EMBASE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and Clinical Trials databases for clinical studies data sources were investigated. The efficiency of recovery, postoperative swallowing function, and complications related to dysphagia were investigated to compare the effects of surgical procedures.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis included 8 studies with 281 patients. ESL surgery played a positive role in the recovery of patients. Preservation of the anterior epiglottic space, ventricular band, and arytenoid cartilage without destroying the external framework of the larynx can effectively reduce the risk of aspiration pneumonia in patients.

CONCLUSIONS

ESL has advantages in postoperative recovery and retention of swallowing function in patients with supraglottic laryngeal cancer.

What is the price of functional surgical organ preservation in local-regionally advanced supraglottic cancer? Long-term outcome for partial laryngectomy followed by radiotherapy in 32 patients

Aims and background

To achieve the goal of organ preservation, both a chemoradiotherapy and a conservative surgical approach can be proposed. The aim of the study was to review all patients treated in our Institute with conservative surgery and postoperative radiotherapy for locally advanced supraglottic tumor.

Methods and study design

A retrospective analysis of 32 patients treated between 2000 and 2010 was performed. Overall survival, disease-free survival and late laryngeal toxicity were evaluated. The impact of surgical procedures, radiotherapy characteristics and addition of chemotherapy on late laryngeal toxicity was studied.

Results

The median follow-up was 38 months. Overall survival and disease-free survival at 5 years were 73% and 66%, respectively. Three (9%) patients experienced local recurrence (after 22, 25 and 40 months, respectively) and were treated with total laryngectomy. The larynx preservation rate was 93%. Severe treatment-related late laryngeal toxicity (grade 3 and 4 laryngeal edema, laryngeal stenosis, presence of tracheotomy at last follow-up because of treatment-related toxicity, and the need for enteral nutrition) was experienced by 34% of patients. The functional larynx preservation rate was 81%. The statistically significant risk factors for severe late toxicity were: female gender, extension of the surgical procedure, removal of one arytenoid and association with concomitant chemotherapy.

Conclusions

We confirmed literature data on the feasibility and efficacy of a surgical organ preservation strategy. However, the high incidence of severe late toxicity requires further studies to improve patient selection and to reduce side effects.

Functional organ preservation in laryngeal and hypopharyngeal cancer

The principles of open versus laser microsurgical approaches for partial resections of the larynx are described, oncologic as well as functional results discussed and corresponding outcomes following primary radiotherapy are opposed. Over the last decade, the endoscopic partial resection of the larynx has developed to an accepted approach in the treatment of early glottic and supraglottic carcinomas thus leading to a remarkable decline in the use of open surgery. Comparing the various surgical approaches of laryngeal partial resections, the oncological outcome of the patients, as far as survival and organ preservation are concerned, are comparable, whereas functional results of the endoscopic procedures are superior with less morbidity. The surgical procedures put together, are all superior to radiotherapy concerning organ preservation. Transoral laser microsurgery has been used successfully for vocal cord carcinomas with impaired mobility or fixation of the vocal cord, supraglottic carcinomas with infiltration of the pre- and/or paraglottic space as well as for selected hypopharyngeal carcinomas. It has been well documented that laser microsurgery achieves good oncological as well as functional results with reasonable morbidity. However, patients with those tumours have been successfully treated by open partial resections of the larynx at medical centres with appropriate expertise. The initially enthusiastic assessment of study results concerning the efficacy of various protocols of chemoradiation with the intent of organ preservation for laryngeal and hypopharyngeal carcinomas are judged more cautious, today, due to recent reports of rather high rates of late toxicity complications.

Injection augmentation of arytenoids after partial laryngectomy: case series

Background:

We undertook collagen injection laryngoplasty to achieve arytenoid augmentation in patients with dysphagia and persistent aspiration following partial laryngectomy, and we evaluated the efficacy of arytenoid augmentation in aiding neoglottic closure and ensuring airway safety.

Methods:

Two patients with persistent swallowing impairment after partial laryngectomy were studied. Swallowing was evaluated using fibre-optic endoscopy, and modified barium swallow study. Collagen was then injected into the arytenoid mucosa to achieve neoglottic competence.

Results:

The patients were followed up for up to two years. Both patients showed a marked improvement in neoglottic competence, as evaluated by fibre-optic and flexible endoscopy at three-month and one-year follow-up appointments.

Conclusion:

Arytenoid augmentation by injection laryngoplasty can be considered a safe and effective surgical tool for the treatment of dysphagia with persistent aspiration following partial laryngectomy.

CO2 laser surgery of supraglottic carcinoma: our experience over 6 years

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

The study goal was to analyze the oncologic and functional outcomes of transoral laser microsurgery in the treatment of carcinoma of the supraglottic larynx.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

A total of 53 patients were included in this retrospective review between 2000 and 2006. The follow-up period was more than 2 years and the mean follow-up for all patients was 49 months.

RESULTS

Tumour extension was as follows: T1 in 12 (22.6%), T2 in 37 (69.8%) and T3 in 4 (7.5%). Forty-seven patients (88.7%) had neck dissections. Nineteen patients (35.8%) received adjuvant radiotherapy. Kaplan-Meier estimates for disease-specific survival were 80%, 74.11% and 65%, at 2, 3 and 5 years, respectively. The overall functional laryngeal preservation rate was 90.56%. (48 of 53), and local control 81.13%. During follow up, 13.2% of patients developed local recurrence, 11.3% regional recurrence and 5.7% loco-regional recurrence. Patients started swallowing early after surgery, with a mean time of 5.83 days, and the mean hospital stay was 14.69 days. Complications included 20.75% who suffered pneumonia and 11.32% with bleeding. Only one patient (1.88%) received total laryngectomy due to the impossibility of swallowing.

CONCLUSIONS

With careful selection of patients, laser supraglottic laryngectomy is a safe and effective treatment for cancer of the supraglottic larynx.

Supraglottic laryngectomy: analysis of 267 cases

Horizontal supraglottic laryngectomy (HSL) allows the preservation of a functioning larynx and avoids permanent tracheotomy. In this retrospective study we report our experience with HSL and describe the functional and oncological results of the procedure. A total of 267 previously untreated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the supraglottis underwent a supraglottic laryngectomy at our Department from January 1978 to May 2002. The main outcome measures were: local and regional control, disease-specific survival and laryngeal preservation rate. The overall recurrence rate was 29% (78/267). The local recurrence rate was 8% (22 patients) and the regional recurrence rate was 17% (45 patients). The 5-year disease-specific survival rate was 73%. The 5-year laryngeal preservation rate was 82%. Multivariate analysis showed two parameters that were independent predictors of a reduced disease specific survival: cervical lymph node metastases of class N3 (P = 0.0003) and primary tumour classified as T4 (P = 0.004). HSL provided, in our experience, an optimal locoregional oncological control for laryngeal preservation.

The role of laser microsurgery in the treatment of laryngeal cancer

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Transoral laser microsurgery has developed in recent years into a surgical method that combines a minimally invasive approach with the surgical precision of laser and microscope. The outcomes of laser microsurgical treatment of laryngeal carcinomas are reviewed and compared with the results of competitive standard procedures.

RECENT FINDINGS

Laser microsurgery is widely acknowledged to have advantages in the treatment of early glottic carcinoma. In the treatment of glottic carcinoma causing impaired mobility or fixation of the vocal cord the role of laser surgery has not yet been definitively assessed. Based on published results, primary laser therapy can achieve local tumor control with a functional residual larynx in approximately 70-80% of cases. In patients with early or moderately advanced supraglottic carcinoma, laser microsurgery is comparable to open supraglottic laryngectomy in terms of local control and survival. With regard to organ preservation, laser microsurgery is comparable to open supraglottic laryngectomy but superior to radiotherapy. Microsurgery can preserve functionally important structures, allowing for early swallowing rehabilitation while avoiding tracheotomy.

SUMMARY

This review elucidates the role of laser microsurgical partial resections of the larynx in comparison with other treatment modalities.

Extended and standard supraglottic laryngectomies: a review of 110 patients

The purpose of this study was to compare functional and oncological results of extended and standard supraglottic laryngectomies. One hundred ten patients with supraglottic carcinoma were treated. A standard supraglottic laryngectomy (SSL), a laterally extended supraglottic laryngectomy (LESL) and an anteriorly extended supraglottic laryngectomy (AESL) were performed on 32, 47 and 31 patients, respectively. Indications for postoperative radiotherapy included positive surgical margins (23% of patients) and/or node metastasis (63% of patients). Local recurrence occurred in 13% of SSL, 15% of LESL and 17% of AESL patients. Pulmonary complications due to aspiration were observed in 6% of SSL, 15% of LESL and 19% of AESL. The overall 5-year cure rates were 63% for SSL, 45% for LESL and 47% for the AESL procedures. Extended supraglottic laryngectomies provided as good a local tumor control as SSL. Extension to the hypopharynx (LESL) and to the vallecula (AESL) showed more frequent pulmonary complications and reduced cure rates.

Resultados funcionales de la laringectomía supraglótica láser

OBJECTIVES

To analyse the functional outcome of patients with supraglottic carcinomas treated by transoral laser surgery.

METHODS

The clinical records of 55 patients who underwent transoral laser surgery were reviewed. Swallowing capacity, surgical complications, requirements for tracheotomies, percentage of decannulations, laryngeal paralysis, stenosis, aspiration associated pneumonia, time to remove the nasogastric tube and postsurgical stay in hospital were the studied variables.

RESULTS

52% of the patients had a normal or within functional limits swallowing performance. 18% suffered aspiration pneumonia. 13% developed a laryngeal stenosis. 7% suffered of laryngeal palsy. 18 tracheostomies were performed, of them 10 could be reverted. The mean time to remove the nasogastric tube was 9 days. The mean hospital stay was 23 days.

CONCLUSIONS

The main functional advantages of transoral laser surgery for supraglottic carcinoma, when compared with the conventional approach, are a lower incidence of temporary tracheotomies, a faster removal of the nasogastric feeding tube, and a lower incidence of pharyngocutaneous fistulas (0%).

Functional outcomes of transoral laser surgery of supraglottic carcinoma compared with a transcervical approach

BACKGROUND

Several functional advantages have been described for the transoral laser supraglottic laryngectomy as compared with open techniques. However, comparative studies have been rarely performed.

METHODS

Functional results in 26 patients treated with a transoral approach were retrospectively compared with those of a comparable series of 26 patients who underwent a transcervical approach.

RESULTS

The only significant differences found between the two groups were a lesser number of temporary tracheotomies and a shorter time of removal of the nasogastric tube in the laser group. No significant differences were found in the incidence of postoperative complications, hospital stay, and swallowing capacity.

CONCLUSIONS

The rate of functional problems after transoral laser surgery did not greatly decrease compared with the rate after the conventional procedure. The mayor advantage of the transoral approach was the lower incidence of temporary tracheotomies.

Predictive values for aspiration after endoscopic laser resections of malignant tumors of the hypopharynx and larynx

BACKGROUND

CO2-laser surgery is a relatively new treatment for selected carcinomas of the upper aerodigestive tract. The purpose of our study was to evaluate prospectively the functional results for swallowing after CO2-laser resections.

METHODS

The sample was composed of 210 consecutive patients with malignancies of the larynx and hypopharynx treated with CO2 laser between February 1998 and January 2002. Endoscopic resections included all T1 and T2 tumors and selected T3 and T4 tumors. T1 glottic tumors were not included in the analysis. We assessed the need for a feeding tube and the period the tube remained in place, aspiration pneumonia, tracheotomy secondary to aspiration, the need for a permanent or temporary gastrostomy, and total laryngectomy secondary to aspiration.

RESULTS

The nasogastric feeding tube was used in 23.2% of small tumors (2.5 +/- 8.04 days) and in 63% of locally advanced tumors (13.95 +/- 22.55 days). Frequency and period of storage of the feeding tube were higher in locally advanced tumors (p=.0001). Twelve patients (5.7%) had postoperative pneumonia and 59 (28.1%) had temporary postoperative cough during oral intake. Aspiration symptoms correlated with location (p=.001) and locally advanced tumors (p=.016). Eight patients (3.8%) needed a postoperative tracheotomy for severe swallowing difficulties; six (2.9%) of them were definitive and two (0.95%) temporary. Thirteen gastrostomies (6.2%) were performed to avoid severe aspirations; five of them were definitive. The need for gastrostomy correlated significantly with location (p=.002), pT3 and pT4 tumors (p=.002), age (p=.02), and postoperative radiotherapy (p=.04). No correlation was found with the period of feeding tube (p=.38), or aspiration pneumonia (p=.24).

CONCLUSIONS

Endoscopic resection of laryngeal and hypopharyngeal tumors is associated with good recovery of deglutition. Many tracheotomies are avoided, the need for a feeding tube is usually reduced, and organ preservation is often feasible even in locally advanced tumors.

Partial laryngectomy for recurrent laryngeal carcinoma

From July 1975 to January 1998, 33 patients underwent partial laryngeal resection for residual or recurrent tumour after primary radical radiotherapy. Sixteen patients had T1 tumours on presentation, 14 were T2 and three were T3. Six patients underwent a supraglottic (horizontal) laryngectomy, 24 had a vertical partial laryngectomy, two had an endoscopic laser resection and one had an endoscopic laser resection followed by a vertical partial laryngectomy. The median time interval between radiotherapy and salvage surgery was 10 months (range 2-188 months). The median follow-up period was 41 months (range 12-185 months). There were five major postoperative complications (15%); two patients developed a pharyngeal fistula and three required further surgery for laryngo-tracheal stenosis. Twenty-five patients (76%) retained their larynx with satisfactory speech and swallowing. Eight patients (24%) had to be converted to a total laryngectomy, seven for recurrent disease and one for laryngeal stenosis. Of the eight patents converted, seven had normal swallowing and six developed good tracheo-oesophageal speech. Seven patients (21%) developed recurrent tumour after partial laryngectomy and were subjected to total laryngectomy; six of these seven were salvaged. Only one of the 33 patients died with recurrent tumour, giving an ultimate disease-related survival of 97%. Conservation laryngeal surgery for salvage of selected patients who fail radical radiation therapy is safe, effective, and results in reasonable preservation of laryngeal function.

Laryngeal long-term morbidity after supraglottic laryngectomy and postoperative radiation therapy

PURPOSE

This study was performed to investigate factors associated with laryngeal morbidity when postoperative radiation therapy (RT) is added to supraglottic laryngectomy.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From 1980 to 1994, 56 patients affected with T1 to 4 N0 to 2c supraglottic squamous cell carcinoma selected for standard (59%) or extended (41%) supraglottic laryngectomy at 2 different institutions were retrospectively analyzed. Most of the patients (91%) also underwent neck dissection. Approximately 80% of the patients had stage T4 primary lesions or N2 neck disease. Postoperative RT was added for presumed microscopic disease at the primary site (13 patients), regional nodes (23 patients), or both (20 patients). Median delivered doses to the larynx and to the neck were 50 Gy (range, 40 to 64 Gy) and 46 Gy (range, 40 to 64 Gy), respectively. Median follow-up for living patients is 11 years (range, 2.8 to 16.9 years). Laryngeal complication was defined as the appearance of grade 2 or higher toxicity according to the European Organization for Research and Treatment of Cancer (EORTC) and the Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) scoring systems.

RESULTS

Two- and 5-year actuarial locoregional control rates were 85+/-5% and 83+/-5%, respectively. Thirty patients (54%) developed laryngeal complications. However, just one patient experienced grade 4 laryngeal oedema requiring permanent tracheostomy. Estimated actuarial survival without laryngeal complications were 50+/-7%, 43+/-7%, and 39+/-7% at 2, 5, and 10 years, respectively. At univariate analysis, treated volumes (P = .03) and total dose to the larynx (P = .03) were significantly associated with local toxicity. A trend was observed also for the maximum dose to the neck (P = .06) and dose per fraction (P = .09). A multivariate Cox proportional hazards model showed total dose to the larynx to be the only independent predictor of toxicity (P = .03). The hazard ratio of laryngeal toxicity was 2.2 (95% confidence interval: 1.1/4.6), for a total dose to the larynx greater than 50 Gy.

CONCLUSION

After supraglottic laryngectomy, postoperative RT to the neck does not affect local morbidity, but careful RT treatment planning is necessary to avoid delivering a total dose to the larynx greater than 50 Gy.

Transoral carbon dioxide laser resection of supraglottic carcinoma

Between 1981 and 1994, 34 patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the supraglottis were treated by transoral carbon dioxide laser resection, 12 of them palliatively. Additional treatment included neck dissection in 21 patients and radiotherapy in 24 patients. The 3-year overall survival was 62%, and the actuarial survival 80%. The overall survival for T1 and T2 tumors was 71%, and that for T3 and T4 tumors was 47%. The overall 3-year survival for the early stages, I and II, was 88%, and that for the advanced stages, III and IV, was 50%. These results are comparable to the outcome after conventional open partial resection. Given the significantly lower morbidity (only 7 patients required tracheostomy), we do not observe an age limit anymore. The transoral method can be recommended as curative treatment in T1 and T2 tumors and in selected T3 and T4 tumors in concert with neck dissection and/or radiotherapy. In patients with advanced inoperable tumors, laser surgery is an excellent alternative to tracheostomy and palliative radiotherapy. Prerequisites for successful application of the transoral carbon dioxide laser resection are adequate resection techniques.