[Laterofixation of the vocal cord by Ejnell's operation for bilateral vocal cord paralysis]

In patients with bilateral vocal cord paralysis, several therapeutic techniques have been proposed to improve laryngeal obstruction. Since 1990, we have performed Ejnell's operation on six patients, one male and five females, suffering from bilateral vocal cord paralysis. Tracheostomy had been performed in four patients prior to their consultation. Five patients underwent a breathing capacity examination before and after the operation. Four of the patients showed improvement in breathing capacity and the tracheostoma was closed in those four patients. There was little aspiration problem during the postoperative follow-up period. Our experience suggests that Ejnell's operation is technically simple and should be useful in the treatment of bilateral vocal cord paralysis.