후두암의 레이저 수술

Treatment of Laryngeal Carcinomas by Laser Surgery

Background and Objectives： The treatment of laryngeal carcinoma is not settled to date and surgeons have used lasers for a variety of benign and malignant lesions in the larynx with good success. The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential role of laser surgery for laryngeal carcinoma. Materials and Methods : Medical records from patients who had undergone laser surgery for laryngeal carcinoma at Seoul National University Hospital between January 1988 3nd December 1998 were reviewed retrospectively. Results : A total of 47 patients were seen during that period and their mean follow-up length was 29 months. Their local control rate was 91％ (94% for glottic T1, 60% for glottic T2, 50% for supraglottic T1 and 100％ for supraglottic T2). The cure rate after laser surgery with or without postoperative radiotherapy was 87％ and 6 of 47 patients showed local or regional recurrences. For those 6 patients, neck dissection, partial or total laryngectomy with or without postoperative RT were conducted and they were all followed up without evidence of disease. All 47 patients who had undergone laser surgery for laryngeal squamous cell carcinoma were followed up with NED and their larynx preservation rate was 96%. Conclusion： This study demonstrates the oncologic validity of laser surgery to the treatment of unadvanced laryngeal carcinoma. However, strict case selection is needed to avoid locoregional recurrences and consequent salvage operations.