Office-based pulsed-dye laser surgery for laryngeal lesions: a retrospective review

The 585-nm pulsed-dye laser (PDL) is used for in-office treatment of recurrent respiratory papillomatosis (RRP), premalignant/early malignant lesions, vascular lesions, and proliferative lesions of the larynx. Reported advantages of this technique include avoidance of general anesthesia, improved efficiency, lower overall cost, and treatment of the anterior commissure with minimal web formation. Our objective was to review our experience with office-based PDL procedures for laryngeal lesions.

Retrospective review.

A chart review of patients undergoing office-based PDL procedures of laryngeal lesions from the years 2005 to 2012.

Of 33 patients, 32 (97%) tolerated the procedure without complication. One patient experienced an anxiety attack and the procedure was aborted. There were no complications. The following pathologies were treated: vascular lesions (n = 10), RRP (n = 8), granuloma (n = 5), premalignant lesions (n = 5), benign mass (n = 2), amyloidosis (n = 1), and anterior web (n = 1). Six (19%) patients, all with vascular lesions, were treated successfully with the in-office PDL and no operating room (OR) procedures. All six patients reported complete resolution of symptoms at 6 months posttreatment. Twenty-six (81%) patients were treated with a combination of in-office PDL and OR procedures, most commonly for RRP (n = 8). Seventeen patients had complete resolution of their symptoms with in-office PDL and OR procedures.

PDL treatment is a safe, well-tolerated, effective, adjunctive therapy and may function as monotherapy in the treatment of selected laryngeal lesions.