Glycerine injection and crystal formation in the larynx: a negative study

Glycerine as a vehicle may be injected alone or with Teflon to reposition a lateral lying paralyzed vocal cord. During the study of a particular patient, crystal formation was observed in laryngeal tissues injected with glycerine. It was hypothesized that glycerine metabolized to oxalic acid crystals via the glyoxylic acid pathway. To confirm this proposition, the gluteus muscle of guinea pigs was injected with glycerine, and at weekly intervals submitted for ordinary and polarized light microscopic examination. The formation of crystals after glycerine injection was not found in the guinea pig. Similarly, no foreign material or crystals were found after centrifuging the stored glycerine.