Histopathological Changes in Tracheal Mucosa Following Total Laryngectomy

The aim of this study was to determine the long term histopathologic changes in tracheal mucosa after a total laryngectomy , and to find out the relationship between the progression of histopathologic changes in tracheal mucosa and the duration of breathing through the tracheostomy. Tracheal mucosal biopsies were taken from a total of 35 patients, of both sexes, who underwent a total laryngectomy for laryngeal carcinoma at least one year prior. Histologic specimens of tracheal mucosa were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and examined under light microscopy. Almost all of the patients demonstrated histopathologic changes or abnormalities. Based on the results, histological findings were grouped into seven categories: normal respiratory epithelium, mild, moderate and advanced basal cell hyperplasia, squamous metaplasia, and slight and moderate and dysplasia. The time elapsed since surgery was calculated for each histopathological change separately. In laryngeal carcinoma patients, after a total laryngectomy histopathologic changes occur in tracheal mucosa. The mildest histopathological changes are found in the patients who had a longer period between the operation and the examination.