Anesthetic Technique and Functional Outcomes in Modified Montgomery Thyroplasty

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Anesthesiology
• Speech-Language Pathology

Background:

• Montgomery thyroplasty type I is a surgical procedure for vocal cord paralysis, aiming to medialize the affected cord and improve voice quality.
• The study focuses on optimizing anesthetic methods to achieve superior post-surgical voice outcomes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To detail the anesthetic approach used in modified Montgomery thyroplasty.
• To correlate the anesthetic technique with functional voice results.

Main Methods:

• A retrospective case series of patients undergoing modified Montgomery thyroplasty between 2011 and 2021.
• Anesthesia involved general anesthesia with neuromuscular relaxation and a laryngeal mask.
• Pre- and post-operative vocal assessments included maximum phonation time (MPT), G score, and Voice Handicap Index-30 (VHI-30).

Main Results:

• All patients demonstrated improved voice results post-surgery.
• Significant increases in MPT and decreases in VHI-30 and G score were observed (p < 0.05).
• No anesthesia or surgical complications were reported.

Conclusions:

• General anesthesia with muscle relaxation and a laryngeal mask is a potentially effective anesthetic option for modified Montgomery thyroplasty.
• Intraoperative fiberoptic visualization of vocal cords facilitated by the laryngeal mask contributes to favorable functional voice outcomes.