Two Cases of Congenital Laryngeal Web Presenting in Complaint of Hoarseness

음성 장애를 주소로 내원한 선천성 성대 격막 2예

A laryngeal web is connective tissue covered with epithelium stretching between both sides of the true vocal cords. Laryngeal webs were first reported by Fleischmann in 1882, and they cause upper airway obstruction and abnormalities of phonation. Congenital webs result from an arrest of reabsorption of the epithelium of the larynx at the tenth week of the fetus. The most common site of webbing is the anterior commissural glottic area, followed by other glottic areas and rarely subglottic or supraglottic areas. We have experienced two cases of congenital laryngeal webs. The webs were operated in two different methods. The first was excised under magnified vision through a laryngoscope, with a silastic keel secured between the raw surfaces of the separated mucosa. In the second case, the deepithelialized surfaces were exposed for a certain time length to mitomycin C to prevent postoperative webbing. We, hereby, report our experience of the diagnosis and management of two cases of a rare entity known as the congenital laryngeal web, and discuss the results with relevant studies.