Open vertical partial laryngectomy: a retrospective study 2012– 2022

Czech version

Authors: B. Gál ^1,2; M. Veselý ^1,2; P. Urbánková ^1,2; M. Bodrucký ¹; A. Hubčík ¹; J. Kanděra ^1,2
Published in: Otorinolaryngol Foniatr, 74, 2025, No. 2, pp. 123-130.
Category: Original Article
doi: https://doi.org/10.48095/ccorl2025123

Overview

Introduction: For patients with early-stage laryngeal carcinoma, function-preserving surgical treatment is currently the preferred primary therapeutic modality. The goal is to achieve complete tumor removal with negative margins while preserving adequate voice quality and respiration without the need for a tracheostomy. Larynx-preserving surgical approaches include transoral endoscopic surgery, robotic microlaryngeal surgery, and external vertical partial laryngectomy (VPL). Objective: The aim of this study was to analyze the factors influencing current indications for open partial laryngectomies for glottic carcinoma and to evaluate the surgical and oncological outcomes of these procedures. Materials and methods: 18 patients who underwent VPL for glottic squamous cell carcinoma from 1. 1. 2012 to 31. 12. 2022 at the Department of Otorhinolaryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, St. Anne‘s Hospital in Brno were included in the retrospective study. Pre-treatment tumor classification was cT1 in 12 (67%) patients and cT2 in 6 (33%) patients. The most commonly performed procedure was laryngofissure with extended chordectomy in 17 (94%) patients; frontal partial laryngectomy was performed in one patient (6%). The most frequent indication for VPL was conversion of the initially chosen endoscopic approach in 10 (56%) patients, revision surgery following a non-radical endoscopic procedure in 3 (17%) patients, and other indications in 5 (28%) cases. Results: The most significant clinical risk factors considered in the indication for VPL included: limited exposure of the larynx in 11 cases, anterior commissure infiltration in 10 cases, tumor spread to the paraglottic space in 5 cases, subglottic extension in 4 cases, involvement of the vocal process in 3 cases, and tumor spread to the laryngeal ventricle in 3 cases. Evaluation of resection margins showed negative resection margins (R0) in 8 (44%) patients, close margins (R0) in 6 (33%) patients, and positive resection margins (R1) in 4 (22%) patients. Postoperative course was favorable in most patients, with no complications in 15 (71%) patients. Mild local complications occurred in 5 (24%) patients, while no severe complications were noted in any of them. The median follow-up period was 3.0 years, with an interquartile range of 2.0 to 5.0 years. Recurrence of carcinoma after VPL and adjuvant radiotherapy was diagnosed in one patient, who ultimately underwent salvage total laryngectomy. Survival probability was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier analysis: 1-year survival at 90.5%, 2-year survival at 85.7%, 3-year survival at 85.7%, 4-year survival at 77.1%, and 5-year survival at 66.1%. Conclusion: Although indications for external approaches are currently very limited, VPL still represents a salvage surgical option for patients with limited laryngeal exposure and for glottic tumors affecting high-risk anatomical subsites, particularly the anterior commissure and paraglottic space. Even considering our results, laryngofissure with extended cordectomy can be regarded as a larynx-preserving procedure that offers functionally acceptable and oncologically comparable treatment outcomes for early glottic carcinoma in comparison with preferred endoscopic approaches and radiotherapy.

Keywords:

partial laryngectomy – laryngofissure – anterior commissure – oncological outcomes

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