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Lateral neck dissection affects the voice in thyroid cancer patients

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2017

I-C Nam ,
J-S Bae ,
S-H Lee ,
J-O Park ,
S-Y Kim ,
Y-H Joo ,
Y-H Park  and
D-I Sun
I-C Nam
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
J-S Bae
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
S-H Lee
Affiliation:
Department of Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
J-O Park
Affiliation:
Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Inje University Haeundae Paik Hospital, Busan, Korea
S-Y Kim
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
Y-H Joo
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
Y-H Park
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
D-I Sun*
Affiliation:
Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea
*
Address for correspondence: Dr D-I Sun, Department of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 222 Banpo-daero, Seocho-gu, Seoul 06591, Republic of Korea Fax: +82 2 595 1354 E-mail: hnsdi@catholic.ac.kr
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Abstract

Objective:

This study aimed to identify the effect of lateral neck dissection on voice change in thyroidectomised patients.

Methods:

Medical records from 264 patients who underwent thyroidectomy with (n = 65) or without (n = 199) lateral neck dissection were reviewed. Clinical and voice evaluation data were compared between the two groups.

Results:

Patients who underwent surgery that included lateral neck dissection had lower fundamental frequencies and speaking fundamental frequencies. They also had a higher incidence of asymmetric mucosal wave and vocal fold oedema on videostroboscopy during the first month after surgery, with the incidence of vocal fold oedema remaining significantly higher at three months. Self-assessed voice quality scores were significantly higher in lateral neck dissection patients at both one and three months after surgery.

Conclusion:

In thyroidectomised patients, lateral neck dissection lowers the vocal pitch in the initial period after surgery and induces vocal fold oedema that persists for several months. Although most objective parameters improved within a month, subjective symptoms lasted for longer.

Keywords

ThyroidectomyNeck DissectionVoice
Type
Main Articles
Information
The Journal of Laryngology & Otology , Volume 131 , Issue 10 , October 2017 , pp. 853 - 859
Copyright
Copyright © JLO (1984) Limited 2017 

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