Recurrent Hoarseness Due to Inflammatory Vocal Fold Lesions in a Patient with Crohn's Disease

Abstract

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease characterized by discontinuous chronic inflammation that may affect virtually all organs, including the head and neck. Laryngeal involvement in Crohn's disease is very rare, and only 9 cases have been reported. All 9 patients complained of difficulty in breathing due to edema and ulceration from the larynx to the hypopharynx. The present patient was a 31-year-old woman who had experienced the intestinal symptoms of Crohn's disease starting 20 months earlier and complained of hoarseness, sore throat, and odynophagia. The hoarseness worsened gradually because of limited ulceration of the vocal fold without edema. We describe the first case in which limited ulceration occurred on the vocal fold without airway involvement.