[A case of laryngeal chondroradionecrosis]

Chondroradionecrosis is one of the rare but important complications of radiation therapy for laryngeal carcinoma. A sixty-one-year-old male patient with glottic carcinoma (T1bN0M0) was treated with radiotherapy because he did not give consent to surgery. He developed difficulty in breathing and halitosis three months following radiotherapy. Radiologic and clinical signs were consistent with a diagnosis of laryngeal chondroradionecrosis. Medical treatment with steroids and antibiotics did not relieve his symptoms, so total laryngectomy was performed. No postoperative complications were seen. The surgical specimen was free of tumor.