[Clinical and functional studies of patients with unilateral laryngeal paralysis]

Unilateral laryngeal paralysis (ULP) involves all three functions (defensive, phonating, and respiratory) of the larynx. It is necessary to make comprehensive clinical studies in patients with ULP of unknown etiology to elucidate the causes of the paralysis. The study involved X-ray tomography of the larynx, lung, and mediastinum, ultrasonography of the thyroid, X-ray study of the skull and the cervical part of the vertebral column, and barium X-ray study of the esophagus. A hundred and twenty patients with ULP underwent clinical and functional studies of the vocal apparatus, with microlaryngoscopy with palpation of the arytenocricoid joint, studies of external respiratory function and the acoustic parameters of their voice. The examination has ascertained that the clinicofunctional status of the larynx in unilateral laryngoparalysis depends on the degree of approach and the quality of closure of the vocal cords (VC) and it is determined by the position of the paralyzed VC in horizontal and vertical planes, by the degree of paralyzed VC atrophy, and by the position and mobility of the arytenoid cartilage.