CO2-laser therapy for carcinoma of the larynx

A retrospective study was undertaken to assess the outcome of 19 consecutive patients, who underwent endolaryngeal resection with a CO2-laser for laryngeal carcinomas. Sixteen of these patients had recurrences after primary curative radiotherapy. Seventeen of the patients had a curative operation carried out. So far, four CO2-laser treatment failures have been observed (median observation time 35 months). None of the patients needed tracheostomy in connection with the operation. Voice quality was in all cases acceptable. It is recommended, that small recurrences (after radiotherapy of laryngeal squamous cell carcinomas) should be considered for a partial laryngectomy with the aid of a laser.