Abstract
Objective: 1) To determine the efficacy of the powered endoscopic microdebrider as a tool in the management of obstructive laryngeal tumors. 2) To compare the histopathological diagnosis between a biopsy taken using the laryngeal forceps and the resected tissue from the microdebrider.
Method: This study is a prospective randomized study. Eighteen patients presented with obstructive laryngeal tumors to the outpatient clinic or emergency room of Alexandria Main University Hospital in 12 months duration starting from November 2010 till November 2011. Tumor debulking was done using laryngeal microdebrider.
Results: All cases presented with moderate to severe stridor, the lesion obstructing more than 50% of the lumen of the larynx. In all cases tracheotomy could be avoided until a definitive therapy was initiated. No significant bleeding was encountered during these procedures. The operating time was directly dependent on the volume of the tumor. Both biopsies (one taken by forceps and the other from tissues resected by microdebrider) gave the same diagnosis except in 1 patient, as there were artifacts in microdebrider collected tissues.
Conclusion: Endoscopic debulking of laryngeal tumors using the microdebrider is a safe, accurate, and reliable method, thus preventing tracheotomy in most cases. The use of microdebrider does not preclude the submission of tissue for histological analysis. These preliminary results are encouraging and worthy of further evaluation and comparison with other techniques.
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