585-nm Pulsed Dye Laser Treatment of Vocal Polyp

585-nm Pulsed Dye LASER를 이용한 성대 폴립의 치료

Background and Objectives: The 585-nm pulsed dye laser (PDL) has recently been adopted by otolaryngologists because of its epithelial-sparing properties. Many authors have reported the use of PDL for treatment of various vocal cord lesions. This purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness of 585-nm PDL in the treatment of vocal polyp. Materials and Methods: Eight patients with vocal polyp were treated with 585-nm PDL from Sep. 2006 to Nov. 2006 in Yong-dong Sevrance hospital. 5 of them went through local anesthesia and 3 of them went through general anesthesia. In order to control laser fiber, flexible digital transnasal laryngoscope was applied under local anesthesia and general anesthesia using LMA, and micromanipulator was used under general anesthesia using endotracheal tube. The evaluations of vocal function was done at pre-and postoperation. Results: All patients improved in the perceptual evaluation of voice after PDL surgery. The aerodynamic study revealed that 5 of 8 patients showed improvement in maximal phonation time, and 6 of 8 showed improvement in mean airflow rate during phonation. The acoustic analysis revealed that all patients showed improvement in Jitter and Shimmer, and 7 of 8 showed improvement in noise to harmony ratio. Conclusion: This study demonstrates promising results in the efficacy of 585-nm PDL for the treatment of vocal polyps, and it illustrates a new option for vocal polyp treatment as well as the advantage of PDL surgery.