Related Experiment Videos
Evaluation of vocal cord function after thyroid surgery
1Department of Surgery, Ankara University Medical School, Turkey.
Objective:
To compare clinical evaluation and indirect laryngoscopy with videolaryngostroboscopy (VLS), which is a new method of diagnosing abnormalities and dysfunction of the vocal folds.
Design:
Prospective study.
Setting:
Teaching hospital, Turkey.
Subjects:
218 patients who required thyroidectomy and who had no vocal abnormality preoperatively.
Interventions:
Clinical evaluation, indirect laryngoscopy, and VLS before operation and on the second postoperative day.
Main Outcome Measures:
Sensitivity and specificity.
Results:
The specificity of all three investigations was 100%. The sensitivity of VLS was 100%, of clinical evaluation 81%, and of indirect laryngoscopy 67%.
Conclusions:
Clinical evaluation and indirect laryngoscopy are safe ways of evaluating abnormalities of the vocal cords postoperatively. It would probably not be cost-effective to use VLS routinely, but for differential diagnosis and evaluation of prognosis of vocal abnormalities after thyroidectomy it is more accurate.