The Annals of Thoracic Surgery, Vol 57, 1020-1021, Copyright © 1994 by The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Ansa-recurrent nerve anastomosis for vocal cord paralysis due to mediastinal lesions
A Miyauchi, K Matsusaka, H Kawaguchi, K Nakamoto and M Maeda
Second Department of Surgery, Kagawa Medical School, Japan.
Recurrent laryngeal or vagus nerve injuries in the mediastinum are repaired
rarely because of technical difficulties. Impairment in phonation is
especially severe in patients with respiratory dysfunction. We performed a
simple and less invasive reconstruction, ansa cervicalis-recurrent
laryngeal nerve anastomosis in the neck, to improve phonation in 2
patients. Although the reinnervated vocal cord did not regain normal
movement, both of the patients obtained excellent improvement in phonation.