Related Experiment Video
Updated: Mar 13, 2026
Learning Modern Laryngeal Surgery in a Dissection Laboratory
Published on: March 18, 2020
Early surgical intervention in type I laryngeal cleft
Kristine E Day1, Nicholas J Smith2, Brian D Kulbersh2
1Department of Otolaryngology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA.
Objective:
Diagnosis and treatment of type 1 laryngeal clefts remains a challenge. The purpose of this study is to determine if early surgical intervention in type I laryngeal clefts improves outcomes.
Methods:
A retrospective case series was conducted at an academic tertiary care children's hospital. 18 children undergoing early (≤3 months from diagnosis) surgical intervention for type I laryngeal cleft repair between August of 2012 and December 2014. Data was compiled through a manual chart review.
Results:
18 children who underwent early surgical intervention for type I laryngeal cleft repair were identified for review. 14 (78%) were male and 4 (22%) were female and the average age at time of repair was 1.6 years. Most frequent presenting symptoms included dysphagia (61%) and recurrent respiratory issues (22%). Successful swallowing outcomes, defined as subjective improvement (i.e. absence of previous symptoms) per parental report in follow-up visits, +/- normal post-operative MBS (modified barium swallow) findings, was seen in 11 patients (61%). 9 patients required hospitalization for respiratory issues prior to surgical repair. Post-operatively, 4 patients still incurred an admission for respiratory reasons.
Conclusions:
Our series shows a success rate of 61% with early surgical intervention (≤3 months from diagnosis). A decrease in post-operative hospitalizations is appreciated.
