Laryngoceles: Concepts of diagnosis and management

A laryngocele is an abnormal dilatation of the laryngeal saccule. It is a rare benign lesion of the larynx. Various modalities of treatment have been advocated for its management. We present our treatment results and outcomes of a series of cases of laryngoceles and discuss the concepts of their management. This study included patients with different laryngocele types. Patients with an internal laryngocele underwent endoscopic CO₂ laser resection, while those with a combined laryngocele underwent resection via a V-shaped lateral thyrotomy approach. Seven patients had an internal laryngocele, and 4 patients had a combined laryngocele. Hoarseness and neck swelling were the most common symptoms. The mean follow-up period was 8.5 months. None of the patients needed a tracheostomy either preoperatively or postoperatively, or had recurrence of laryngocele. We advocate the lateral thyrotomy approach for combined laryngoceles as it provides safe, precise, and complete resection under direct visualization via a single approach, while we favor the endoscopic laser approach for the internal ones as it allows resection of the entire lesion with minimal laryngeal trauma, less operative time, and a shorter hospital stay.