Dysphagia after total laryngectomy resulting from hypocalcemia: case report

Although hypocalcemia is a common postoperative complication of patients who have undergone a total laryngectomy with total thyroidectomy for treatment of laryngeal cancer or cancer of adjacent organs and hypocalcemia can produce the symptom of dysphagia, there has never been a report that hypocalcemia is the cause of dysphagia in these patients. The authors reported two cases who had hypocalcemia after total laryngectomy with total thyroidectomy and presented with sudden and severe dysphagia. However, the symptom of dysphagia was dramatically improved after calcium replacement therapy.