• 대한후두음성언어의학회지
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• 제21권2호
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• pp.121-127
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• 2010

Background and Objectives : Unilateral vocal fold paralysis is generally treated using injection laryngoplasty or voice therapy. However, the decision of treatment method is dependent on clinician's preference and hospital facilities without specific criteria. The purpose of the study was to examine factors predictive of voice therapy outcome in patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis. Materials and Method : 38 patients diagnosed as unilateral vocal fold paralysis, aged from 24 to 81 years and undergone voice therapy more than 1 month were included. After 3 to 12 (mean 5.1) sessions of voice therapy, subjects had divided into responder group (RG, 28 patients) and non-responder group (NRG, 10 patients) according to G scale change. Paramters of perceptual assessment, acoustic and aerodynamic measure, and videostroboscopy were compared between two groups, and factors predictive of voice therapy result were analyzed. Results : RG patients showed significantly reduced rough, breathy, asthenic voice after voice therapy. Change of MPT and MFR was more substantial in RG than in NRG. By videostroboscopy, RG patients showed significantly more mucosal wave symmetry, glottal closure, reduced glottal gap index during the closed phase of phonation, while NRG patients showed more occurrences of abnomal supraglottic activities during phonation (p < 0.05). Poor outcome of voice therapy significantly associated with increased asthenic scale, short MPT, and less glottal closure (p=0.02). In addition, 90% of patients with MPT more than 5 seconds were in RG, whereas 56% of patients with MPT less than 5 secondes were in RG. Conclusion : Voice therapy is useful for large proportion of patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis as an initial treatment method. However, patients with large asthenia scale, large glottic gap or MPT less than 5 seconds tend to have poor voice therapy outcome, and early injection laryngoplasty maybe recommended for these patients.

• 대한후두음성언어의학회지
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• 제25권2호
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• pp.90-95
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• 2014

Background and Objectives : Arytenoid adduction procedure is one of the main surgical options addressed for the correction of glottal incompetence in patients with unilateral vocal cord paralysis. Traditionally, a midline approach is used for identifying and suturing around the muscular process, which often needs over-traction of the thyroid cartilage and results in patient's discomfort as well as surgeon's distress. The authors investigated the advantage of a modified procedure, lateral approach, in which the arytenoid cartilage is exposed through the space between strap muscles and sternocleidomastoid muscle. Materials and Methods : Retrospective chart review was performed for 66 patients who received arytenoid adduction surgery at Samsung Medical Center, between the year 1997 and 2014. Operation time, types of anesthesia, voice outcomes and complications were compared between the midline (n=22) and the lateral (n=44) approach group. Results : Operation time was shorter in the lateral approach group ($125{\pm}24min$) than in the midline group ($144{\pm}24min$). Arytenoid adduction was proceeded under local anesthesia in 66% (n=29/44) and 14% (n=3/22) of patients with lateral and midline approach group, respectively. Voice outcomes and complication rates were comparable between the two groups. Injection laryngoplasty in conjunction with arytenoid adduction resulted in more favorable voice outcomes. Conclusion : A lateral approach for the arytenoid adduction procedure showed comparable voice outcomes and similar complication rates with those of a midline approach. However, lateral approach provided less discomfort to the patients and less distress to a surgeon, and therefore, shorter operation time was needed and local anesthesia could be more frequently applied for this modified procedure.

• 대한후두음성언어의학회지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.138-142
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• 2006

Objectives : Vocal cord paralysis(VCP) is a complex disorder which may result from numerous causes. We reviewed and analyzed the trend of clinical characteristics and causes of VCP in Korean patient. Method : A total 197 patients with VCP who visited St.Mary's hospital from March, 2000 to August, 2006 were reviewed retrospectively. They were analyzed according to sex, age, cause of VCP, position of paralyzed vocal fold, treatment methods. Results : The male and female ratio was 1.6 : 1. The unilateral paralyzed vocal fold was fixed at paramedian position in 84% of the cases. The left vocal fold was paralyzed about 2 1/2 times as much as the right vocal fold. Among the causes of VCP 30.9% of the cases were due to postoperative paralysis, and most of those were developed after lung, mediastinal surgery. laryngeal EMG was performed in 47 patients for determines the prognosis and treatment method. In the unilateral VCP, 90 patients were treated with injection laryngoplasty, 21 patients were performed thyroplasty type I. Conclusion : The causes of VCP include various diseases, so, detection of the primary disease is very important, because many fatal diseases are included among the primary diseases, and late detection can cause serious problems. VCP is not only a disease entity in itself, but can be seen as a sign of an underlying disease.

• 대한후두음성언어의학회지
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• 제19권1호
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• pp.11-15
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• 2008

Endoscopic laser cordectomy is known as an oncologically sound procedure for T1 and selected T2 glottic carcinoma ; it has comparable local control rate and better long-term laryngeal preservation rate when compared with those of radiotherapy. Even if results of the reported voice outcome studies after surgery or radiotherapy are diverse and controversial, resection deeper than the body layer of the vocal fold (type III, IV, V cordectomy) usually leads to aerodynamic insufficiency during phonation and results in poor voice quality. A keyhole defect or development of synechiae at the anterior commissure after type VI cordecomy may also result in unsatisfactory vocal outcome. However, many advances in phonosurgical techniques are reported to be successfully applied in the reconstruction of glottal defect that is subsequent to endoscopic laser cordectomy. In case of glottal insufficiency, voice restoration can be achieved by means of augmentation of the paraglottic space or medialization of the excavated vocal fold. Injection laryngoplasty with synthetic materials or autologous fat is gaining its popularity for restoring minor glottal volume defect because of its convenience. Laryngeal framework surgery, especially type I thyroplasty with premade implant systems or Gore-Tex, is most frequently used to correct larger glottic volume defect. In case of anterior commissural keyhole defect, additional procedure including laryngofissure may be required. For anterior commissural synechiae, laryngeal keel may be inserted for several weeks or mitomycin-C may be repeatedly applied after the division of adhesive scar to prevent restenosis. In this paper, current concepts and the authors' experiences of phonosurgical reconstruction of vocal function after endoscopic cordectomy will be introduced.