Office pulsed dye laser treatment for benign laryngeal vascular polyps: a preliminary study

The 585-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) was recently deemed relatively safe and effective for treatment of laryngeal papilloma, dysplasia, and granuloma. We report on in-office PDL treatment of laryngeal vascular polyps.

Retrospective case results from 29 consecutive cases of laryngeal polyps were evaluated to determine the percent change in polyps after PDL treatment. Preoperative and postoperative measurements of polyp size, total power delivered to the site, and whether patients opted for postprocedure phonomicrosurgery were analyzed.

After PDL treatment, the results varied from complete to partial resolution of the polyp. Four patients requested conventional phonomicrosurgery, and the rest had enough improvement to defer surgery. Almost 40% of patients with larger polyps desired operative intervention after laser treatment, whereas only 13% of those with small polyps opted for phonomicrosurgery. Thirty-eight percent (11 of 29) of the lesions had greater than 70% improvement after 1 or 2 laser treatments (average of 1.1 procedures). Smaller lesions responded better. Thirty-nine percent of small polyps resolved by greater than 70%, whereas only 20% of larger lesions improved by the same amount. There were no adverse events from the office procedure.

In-office use of the PDL for treatment of vascular polyps may be a safe alternative to phonomicrosurgery. Small polyps seem to show a better response.