Vocal fold paresis as a surgical complication: our 10-year experience with 162 incidents

Abstract

Keypoints - Between January 2006 and December 2015, 320 patients with vocal fold paralysis (VFP) were identified in Kuopio University Hospital, Finland. - The overall annual incidence rate of VFP was 11.4 per 100 000 inhabitants (95% confidence interval 10.1‐12.8). - The most common aetiologies of VFP were iatrogenic (50.6%), idiopathic (21.6%) and neoplasm (14.7%). - The incidence of VFP after esophageal surgery was 16,6%, after mediastinoscopy 5.6%, after thyroid surgery 5.2%, after parathyroid surgery 4.3%, after non‐cardiac surgery through sternotomy 4%, after surgery of the aortic arch 3.2%, after carotid endarterectomy 1.4%, and after anterior cervical spine procedures 0,9%. - In addition to patients undergoing surgery of thyroid and parathyroid gland, patients undergoing surgery of the oesophagus or mediastinoscopy might also benefit from systematic screening for VFP.