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VOICE CHANGES AND THYROID SURGERY: IS PRE‐OPERATIVE INDIRECT LARYNGOSCOPY NECESSARY?

1999; Wiley; Volume: 69; Issue: 9 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1046/j.1440-1622.1999.01653.x

1440-1622

Philip Yeung, Catherine Erskine, Philip Mathews, Philip Crowe,

Tracheal and airway disorders

Indirect laryngoscopy (IDL) is often performed prior to thyroid surgery to detect pre-existing vocal cord pathology.A retrospective chart review of 201 patients undergoing thyroid surgery at the Prince of Wales Hospital was undertaken in order to study the patterns of pre-operative and postoperative voice changes and IDL findings.A total of 9% of patients had pre-operative voice symptoms, and 22% of this group had abnormalities detected on pre-operative IDL. Of 160 documented IDL, 4% revealed vocal cord pathology in asymptomatic patients, including an asymptomatic recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy.Indirect laryngoscopy remains a useful but flawed pre-operative screening tool for patients with voice symptoms, but the literature suggests that more advanced phoniatric tests will provide superior diagnostic sensitivity. The role of routine pre-operative laryngoscopy for asymptomatic patients is of debatable value.