Partial horizontal supraglottic laryngectomy. A method of reconstruction

Despite the low occurrence of early laryngeal lesions amenable to Partial Supraglottic Laryngectomy, they form a very interesting and important group of lesions. Timing is important in their recognition, since adequate treatment can then be secured and important functions of the larynx preserved. The draw back in the treatment of these lesions by partial laryngectomy lies in the difficulty in restoring the patient to his preoperative pattern of life. Repeated aspiration pneumonitis becomes a life threatening problem in a good number of such patients. A new method of reconstruction is described here by which the aspiration problem is obviated with the aid of a pedicle flap to line the raw surface of the transected base of the tongue allowing the organ to remain in a position capable of occluding the glottis during deglutition, and at the same time guiding the food along the posterior pharyngeal wall and into the esophagus.