Preliminary report--near total laryngectomy for SCC larynx

A retrospective analysis was performed on patients subjected to near-total laryngectomy at Aga Khan University Hospital Karachi from September 2006 and May 2010, to evaluate the functional outcome of Near Total Laryngectomy and its effect on disease control. In all of these advanced stage laryngeal-hypopharyngeal squamous cancer patients, the disease was limited to one side of the larynx-hypopharynx. Four patients were staged as T3 and rest were T4; near total laryngectomy was done in all 07 patients. Post operative adjuvant radiotherapy was given to 06 patients. All of these patients are on regular oral diet and maintaining their body weight. Six patients are using their preserved hemi larynx effectively. Mean follow up of these patients was 15 months. Three patients developed regional recurrence whereas the remaining four patients were well till their last follow-up. Near total laryngectomy is a safe surgical option even for advanced laryngeal-hypopharyngeal cancer without compromising oncological clearance. It gives patients their own physiological voice that does not require maintenance but at the expense of permanent tracheostomy.