[Stomal recurrence after laryngectomy. An inevitable late complication]

Postlaryngectomy tumoral recurrence on the stoma is a terrible late complication that has a fatal outcome. In spite of advances in laryngeal surgery and modern reconstructive techniques, it is still a major cause of death in patients with laryngeal cancer. In a review of 500 patients who underwent surgery for laryngeal cancer in 1981-86 and 1995-97, we found no changes in the frequency of stomal recurrence between periods (4% in both periods). Stomal recurrence was associated in our study with subglottic extension and with transglottic lesions. Previous tracheotomy was not a decisive factor in the appearance of stomal recurrence in our patients.