A Ten-Year Kuala Lumpur Review on Laser Posterior Cordectomy for Bilateral Vocal Fold Immobility

Bilateral vocal fold immobility (BVFI) is commonly caused by injury to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) and leads to stridor and dyspnea of varying onsets. A retrospective study was done at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia Medical Centre on laser microsurgical posterior cordectomy for BVFI. The objectives were to identify the average duration of onset of stridor from the time of insult and to evaluate the outcome of laser posterior cordectomy as a surgical option. From 1997 to 2007, a total of 31 patients with BVFI were referred for surgery. Twelve patients had tracheostomy done prior to the procedure, whereas 19 patients were without tracheostomy. Ten patients were successfully decannulated, and only 4 patients had complications related to the procedure. The minimum onset of stridor was 7 months, maximum onset of stridor was 28 years, and the mean onset of stridor was 8.7 years. The commonest complication observed was posterior glottic adhesion following bilateral posterior cordectomy. Laser endolaryngeal posterior cordectomy is an excellent surgical option as it enables successful decannulation or avoidance of tracheostomy in patients with BVFI. The onset of stridor took years after the insult to the recurrent laryngeal nerves.