The Effect of Unilateral Posterior Transverse Cordotomy on Quality of Life of Patients with Bilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis

Abstract

Objective:The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of unilateral transverse posterior cordotomy on the quality of life of patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis.Methods:This study included 19 patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis who underwent unilateral transverse posterior cordotomy between 2007 and 2012. Assessment of preoperative and postoperative quality of life of the patients was performed using the Short Form-36 (SF-36) quality of life survey.Results:The etiology of bilateral vocal fold paralysis was thyroid surgery in 18 patients. It was idiopathic in 1 patient. Cold knife was used in 12 patients and CO2 laser was used in 7 patients for posterior cordotomy. Acute upper airway obstruction developed in 1 patient who required tracheotomy. No other significant complications have been noted. We found a statistically significant improvement in all SF-36 subscale scores postoperatively (p<0.05).Conclusion:Unilateral posterior transverse cordotomy either by using cold knife or CO2 laser is a safe surgical procedure and improves the quality of life of patients with bilateral vocal fold paralysis.

Keywords

• bilateral vocal fold paralysis
• posterior unilateral transverse cordotomy
• quality of life assessment