Granulomatous Inflammation and Nerve Necrosis in a Case of Apparent Idiopathic Vocal Fold Paralysis: Report of a Case

Is it meaningful to preserve a palsied recurrent laryngeal nerve?

Surgeons may assume intuitively that preservation of a palsied recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) in patients with preoperative vocal cord paralysis is not meaningful. Here we present our experience in four cases with preoperative vocal cord paralysis, and show that preservation of a palsied RLN may be important in maintaining patients' voice.

PATIENTS

Case 1 is a 54-year-old woman who suffered from a recurrent thyroid cancer disease and right vocal cord paralysis. She was subjected to resection of a locoregional lymph node metastasis on the right paratracheal groove. The right RLN was infiltrated by tumor and was sacrificed during surgery. Surprisingly, her voice weakened postoperatively. Evaluation of the patient showed immobility and mild atrophy of right vocal cord. Cases 2, 3, and 4 are patients with preoperative unilateral vocal cord paralysis and undergoing thyroid or parathyroid surgery. In these three patients, the palsied RLNs were identified and carefully preserved during surgery. These palsied RLNs and ipsilateral vagus nerves were tested with intraoperative neuromonitoring, and an evoked electromyographic activity was elicited. Postoperative evaluation of these three patients showed a steady state of voice and immobility without atrophy of vocal cords.

CONCLUSION

Even on a palsied RLN, a positive electrophysiological response may still be yielded by intraoperative neuromonitoring. This means that there may retain residual innervations in laryngeal muscles. To prevent atrophy of a paralyzed vocal cord, further injury to a palsied RLN should be avoided. Even the palsied nerve should be saved whenever possible.

Severe dysphagia in lower cranial nerve involvement as the initial symptom of Wegener's granulomatosis

We observed a 42-year-old woman presenting with severe dysphagia secondary to paralysis of the lower cranial nerves and right phrenic nerve involvement, followed by respiratory failure. An EMG confirmed bilateral denervation of the 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th cranial nerves and right phrenic nerve. Videolaryngoscopy showed bilateral vocal fold immobility. Anemia, elevated ESR, microhematuria and C-ANCA (PR-3) antibodies were detected. Brain MRI and CSF were normal. A chest CT showed bilateral, irregular pulmonary lesions. An 18F-FDG total body scan showed diffuse hypermetabolic regions in both pulmonary bases, in the mediastinic region and in the rhinopharynx, raising the suspicion of a neoplastic process. A transthoracic biopsy disclosed nodular granulomatous aggregates with multinucleated giant cells, supporting the diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis. Immunosuppressive therapy achieved complete clinical resolution and cleared the pulmonary lesions. To the best of our knowledge this is the first report of Wegener's granulomatosis presenting with neurogenic dysphagia due to lower cranial nerve palsy.

Frequency of transient ipsilateral vocal cord paralysis in patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy under local anesthesia

BACKGROUND

Especially because of improvements in clinical neurologic monitoring, carotid endarterectomy done under local anesthesia has become the technique of choice in several centers. Temporary ipsilateral vocal nerve palsies due to local anesthetics have been described, however. Such complications are most important in situations where there is a pre-existing contralateral paralysis. We therefore examined the effect of local anesthesia on vocal cord function to better understand its possible consequences.

METHODS

This prospective study included 28 patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy under local anesthesia. Vocal cord function was evaluated before, during, and after surgery (postoperative day 1) using flexible laryngoscopy. Anesthesia was performed by injecting 20 to 40 mL of a mixture of long-acting (ropivacaine) and short-acting (prilocaine) anesthetic.

RESULTS

All patients had normal vocal cord function preoperatively. Twelve patients (43%) were found to have intraoperative ipsilateral vocal cord paralysis. It resolved in all cases < or =24 hours. There were no significant differences in operating time or volume or frequency of anesthetic administration in patients with temporary vocal cord paralysis compared with those without.

CONCLUSION

Local anesthesia led to temporary ipsilateral vocal cord paralysis in almost half of these patients. Because pre-existing paralysis is of a relevant frequency (up to 3%), a preoperative evaluation of vocal cord function before carotid endarterectomy under local anesthesia is recommended to avoid intraoperative bilateral paralysis. In patients with preoperative contralateral vocal cord paralysis, surgery under general anesthesia should be considered.