Optimal Management of the Unilateral Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve Involvement in Patients with Thyroid Cancer

• Main Authors: Satoru Miyamaru, Daizo Murakami, Kohei Nishimoto, Narihiro Kodama, Joji Tashiro, Yusuke Miyamoto, Haruki Saito, Hiroki Takeda, Momoko Ise, Yorihisa Orita
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
• Series: Cancers
• Subjects: thyroid cancer; recurrent laryngeal nerve; vocal fold; vocal function; recurrent laryngeal nerve reconstruction
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6694/13/9/2129

We aimed to determine the optimal management of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) involvement in thyroid cancer. We enrolled 80 patients with unilateral RLN involvement in thyroid cancer between 2000 and 2016. Eleven patients with preoperatively functional vocal folds (VFs) underwent sharp tumor resection to preserve the RLN (shaving group). Thirty-three patients underwent RLN reconstruction with RLN resection (reconstruction group). We divided the reconstruction group into two subgroups based on preoperative VF mobility (normal-reconstruction and paralyzed-reconstruction subgroups). In the cases where RLN reconstruction was difficult, phonosurgeries including arytenoid adduction (AA), with or without thyroplasty type I, or nerve muscle pedicle implantation with AA were performed later (phonosurgery group). We evaluated and compared vocal function among the evaluated periods and different groups. Postoperative vocal function in the shaving and normal-reconstruction subgroups was favorable. There were no significant differences between the two groups. In the paralyzed-reconstruction and phonosurgery groups, postoperative vocal function was significantly improved, and vocal function in the paralyzed-reconstruction subgroup was significantly better than that in the phonosurgery group. For optimal management of unilateral RLN involvement in thyroid cancer, first, sharp dissection should be performed, and if this is impossible, a simultaneous RLN reconstruction procedure should be adopted whenever possible.