"Exploratory" surgery for advanced carcinoma of the larynx: a relatively safe approach

Between the years 1970 and 1986, the author managed 132 patients with T3 glottic carcinoma. Over half of these patients were explored in an effort to safely perform subtotal laryngectomy. Twenty-seven of them were found to have extension of tumor that required immediate conversion to total laryngectomy. Five-year survival rates were essentially the same for all three groups: immediate total laryngectomy, subtotal laryngectomy, and total laryngectomy following attempted subtotal laryngectomy. I conclude that carefully selected patients with T3 glottic cancer may be candidates for subtotal laryngectomy after surgical exploration, since conversion to total laryngectomy yields local control rates as satisfactory as those of initial total laryngectomy. When subtotal laryngectomy is possible, local control of tumor and recurrence rates are as satisfactory as those of total laryngectomy.