BACKGROUND: Anti-IgLON5 disease is a recently described neurological disorder with multisystemic features. The disease is characterized by the presence of IgLON5 antibodies in serum and cerebrospinal fluid. Our objective is to describe in detail the otorhinolaryngological manifestations of this disease, which are frequent and may include dysphagia, dysarthria, vocal cord paralysis and laryngospasm.
METHODS: In this study, we present a series of 9 patients with anti-IgLON5 disease and otolaryngological manifestations. Patients were evaluated between July 2012 and March 2022 by video-polysomnography, fiber-optic laryngoscopy, and functional endoscopic evaluation of swallowing.
RESULTS: The median age was 71 years, and 5 (56%) were female. Video-polysomnography showed a NREM/REM parasomnia in 6 patients (67%), obstructive sleep apnea in 8 (88%), stridor during sleep in 7 (78%) and central apneas in 1 (11%). Six out of the 9 patients (67%) presented episodes of acute respiratory failure that required mechanical ventilation, 6 had vocal fold palsy with 4 of them requiring tracheostomy (3 had to be performed on an emergency basis). Dysphagia occurred in 8 patients (89%). Prominent upper airway secretion and sialorrhea was also present in 3 cases.
CONCLUSIONS: The anti-IgLON5 disease exhibits extensive otolaryngological symptoms, mainly affecting the upper airway. These symptoms affect the quality of life and can be life-threatening. Prompt acute management is essential for stridor, dyspnea, and dysphagia. Given the potential severity of the symptoms and rarity of the disease, it is important for otolaryngologists to be familiar with anti-IgLON5 disease.
METHODS: Level 4.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculous meningitis, a rare but severe form of extrapulmonary tuberculosis, frequently affects cranial nerves. While nerves III, VI and VII are commonly involved, involvement of caudal cranial nerves is rarely described. Here, we report a rare case of bilateral vocal cord palsy secondary to caudal cranial nerve involvement in tuberculous meningoencephalitis, that occurred in Germany, a country with low tuberculosis incidence.
METHODS: A 71-year-old woman was transferred for further treatment of hydrocephalus as a complication of presumed bacterial meningitis with unknown pathogen at that time. Because of decreased consciousness, intubation was performed and an empiric antibiotic therapy with ampicillin, ceftriaxone and acyclovir was initiated. Upon admission to our hospital, an external ventricular drainage was placed. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed Mycobacterium tuberculosis as the causative pathogen, and antitubercular treatment was initiated. Extubation was possible one week after admission. Eleven days later, the patient developed inspiratory stridor that worsened within a few hours. Flexible endoscopic evaluation of swallowing (FEES) revealed new-onset bilateral vocal cord palsy as the cause of respiratory distress, which required re-intubation and tracheostomy. The bilateral vocal cord palsy persisted despite continued antitubercular therapy on the follow-up examination.
CONCLUSIONS: Considering the aetiology of infectious meningitis, cranial nerve palsies may be suggestive for tuberculous meningitis as underlying disease given their rarity in other bacterial forms of meningitis. Nevertheless, intracranial involvement of inferior cranial nerves is rare even in this specific entity, as only extracranial lesions of inferior cranial nerves have been reported in tuberculosis. With this report of a rare case of bilateral vocal cord palsy due to intracranial involvement of the vagal nerves, we emphasize the importance of timely initiation of treatment for tuberculous meningitis. This may help to prevent serious complications and associated poor outcome since the response to anti-tuberculosis therapy may be limited.

Cranial neuropathy is a clinical manifestation of meningeal carcinomatosis (MC); however, the glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves are rarely impaired. Therefore, dysphagia and bilateral vocal cord paralysis (BVCP) are extremely rare manifestations of MC. Here, we present a case of MC from a lung adenocarcinoma presenting with dysphagia and BVCP. An 84-year-old man with a 4-year history of left lung adenocarcinoma developed dysphagia and hoarseness. Flexible nasopharyngoscopy revealed BVCP. Ten days later, the patient developed stridor and respiratory distress. A tracheotomy was performed to prevent airway obstruction. Gadolinium-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain showed enhancement of the bilateral glossopharyngeal and vagus nerves, and several enhancing lesions in the right internal auditory canal, left cerebellum, fourth ventricle, pons, cerebral aqueduct, and right frontal lobe, suggesting MC and brain metastasis. Based on the clinical history of malignancy and the MRI findings, the patient was diagnosed with MC. As the patient refused additional treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation, only palliative care was provided. To the best of our knowledge, this was the first case of MC from a solid tumor presenting with BVCP. When patients with malignancy present with BVCP, MC should be considered.

Management of pediatric bilateral vocal cord palsy (BVCP) is a controversial and challenging topic. It may represent a severe obstructive condition usually associated with respiratory distress, and, in such condition, tracheostomy has been considered the gold standard for a long time. Many surgical options have been described and used to increase the glottic space in BVCP (1), with ongoing research of less invasive techniques. The challenge and current trend in our department and in many major pediatric centers is to avoid tracheotomy through an early treatment. Many techniques introduced in the last decade reduced the number of tracheotomies and increased the decannulation rate. Furthermore, we observed a recent increase in attention to preserve the quality of the voice with new techniques, such as endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy which is in our opinion an important innovation to improve glottic space with satisfactory voice results. We present a review of the literature about the evolution of the treatment options for pediatric BVCP during the years.

A patient had respiratory difficulty and hoarseness following total thyroidectomy due to bilateral vocal cord palsy. The patient was a 60-year-old man who underwent total thyroidectomy for papillary carcinoma of the thyroid. He had no laryngeal symptoms prior to the operation. Anesthesia lasted 3.5 hours and was uneventful. Spontaneous respiration resumed after reversal of the neuromuscular blockade. After arriving at the post-anesthesia care unit, he complained of respiratory difficulty and hoarseness. We confirmed bilateral vocal cord palsy by fiberoptic laryngoscopy. It is necessary to perform a complete and thorough search for the underlying cause of vocal cord palsy.

BACKGROUND: Endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy (EAAL) is an effective glottis enlarging procedure for the treatment of bilateral vocal cord palsy (BVCP). The postoperative glottic configuration changes can be evaluated by modern, high-resolution, 3D image reconstructions. Functional results are described by spirometry as well as objective and subjective phoniatric tests.
METHODS: Unilateral EAAL was performed in ten malignant thyroid gland tumor patients (eight women, two men), who had BVCP after thyroid surgery. Slicer 3D® software was used for morphometric analysis. Pre- and postoperative peak inspiratory flow (PIF) and standard phoniatric parameters were compared.
RESULTS: The glottic gap improved significantly (+ 60%). Significant improvement of PIF was found in all cases. Phoniatric tests revealed better quality of voice and patient satisfaction. Their voices changed from a severely impaired to a socially acceptable, almost normal, quality.
CONCLUSIONS: The results support our clinical observations that the ideal position of the lateralization sutures is the one which provides a physiological abduction position of the arytenoid cartilage. Considering these good results, the surgical indications for minimally invasive endoscopic arytenoid lateropexy may be extended.

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea caused by bilateral vocal cord paralysis often requires surgical intervention to prevent acute asphyxiation. The regeneration of the laryngeal nerves may last weeks or months and it is difficult to predict the outcome. In the past decades, several open and endoscopic surgical techniques have been introduced for treatment to avoid tracheostomy, however, these procedures with resection of the glottis resulted in irreversible changes in the laryngeal structure, thus the voice quality decreased over a long-term period.
OBJECTIVE: Endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy is an accepted reversible, minimally invasive technique that provides an immediate patent airway by the lateralisation of the arytenoid cartilage with a suture. The aim of our study was to analyze the phonatory and respiratory outcomes of this treatment concept.
METHODS: Two patients suffering from bilateral vocal cord palsy were treated with endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy. After recovery of the vocal cord movements, the sutures were removed. Spirometric and phoniatric results of the two patients were analysed after suture removal.
RESULTS: Good spirometric parameters and normal voice quality were detected in both cases.
CONCLUSIONS: These results prove the high reversibility of the minimally invasive endoscopic arytenoid abduction lateropexy. Lateralization suture can be removed in the case of vocal cord movement recovery, and phonation may be physiological. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(29): 1188-1192.
Absztrakt: Bevezetés: A kétoldali gégebénulások esetén kialakuló légszomj azonnali sebészeti beavatkozást tesz szükségessé. A nervus laryngeus recurrens esetleges regenerációja heteket, hónapokat vehet igénybe, előre nem jósolható meg. Az elmúlt évtizedekben a tracheotomia helyett számos nyitott és endoszkópos eljárást fejlesztettek ki a dyspnoe megszüntetésére, ugyanakkor ezek az eljárások a gégestruktúra reszekciója miatt irreverzibilis károsodást okoztak, mely a hangképzés minőségét hosszú távon gyengítette. Célkitűzés: Az endoszkópos arytenoid abdukciós lateropexia kétoldali gégebénulás esetén elfogadott reverzibilis eljárás, amely a kannaporc lateralizált helyzetben történő rögzítésével megszünteti a nehézlégzést. Célunk a hangszalagmozgások regenerációját követően a lateralizáló varrat eltávolítása után a beteg hangminőségének és légzésfunkciójának meghatározása. Módszer: Két, endoszkópos arytenoid abdukciós lateropexiával kezelt, kétoldali gégebénulásban szenvedő betegnél a hangszalagmozgások részleges, illetve teljes regenerációját követően eltávolítottuk a lateralizáló varratokat. Objektív és szubjektív módszerekkel vizsgáltuk a légzésfunkciót és a hangminőséget. Eredmények: Mindkét esetben megfelelő légzésfunkciós eredmények mellett jó hangminőséget sikerült elérni. Következtetések: Eredményeink bizonyítják a minimálisan invazív, endoszkópos arytenoid abdukciós lateropexia nagyfokú reverzibilitását. A hangszalagmozgások részleges vagy teljes visszatérése esetén a lateralizáció megszüntethető, ezt követően közel fiziológiás hangképzés észlelhető. Orv Hetil. 2018; 159(29): 1188–1192.

BACKGROUND: Dyspnea due to bilateral vocal cord palsy after total thyroidectomy (BVCPATT) is a life-threatening complication; nevertheless, we try to avoid tracheotomy.
METHODS: Using normalized glottal area (NGA), we retrospectively studied 14 patients with BVCPATT. Nine patients without dyspnea were treated conservatively, while five with dyspnea received immediate bilevel positive air-way pressure (BiPAP) treatment. Both right and left recurrent nerves were grossly intact during surgery.
RESULTS: The mean NGA during inspiration of five patients with dyspnea was less than that of nine patients without (6.21±1.57 (mean±standard deviation) vs. 20.5±9.5; p=0.001). The mean age of patients with dyspnea was more than that of patients without (61.6±15.6 vs. 38±10.2; p=0.007). Five patients with dyspnea that occurred at 0-8days post operation recovered within 3-17days after BiPAP.
CONCLUSIONS: Dyspnea occurred in patients with BVCPATT who were relatively older. The mean NGA during inspiration in patients with dyspnea was less than that in patients without. BiPAP might be a new treatment for dyspnea.

OBJECTIVE: To define normative amplitude and latency of vagus, recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN), and external branch of superior laryngeal nerve (EBSLN) and to apply them to postoperative neural function documentation. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report electrophysiologic characteristics of all three nerves in a consecutive patient series.
METHODS: Prospective.
METHODS: Quantitative analysis of evoked waveform data was performed on both sides in consecutive patients undergoing thyroid surgery by a single surgeon. Mean values, standard error of mean, and standard deviation were calculated for latency (in milliseconds) and amplitude (in microvolts) of the vagus nerves, RLN, and EBSLN. Pre- and postoperative vocal cord function was normal in all patients.
RESULTS: Normative latency analysis showed mean right and left vagal latency of 5.47 ms (±0.73) and 8.14 ms (±0.86), respectively (P < .0001). Pooled RLN latency was 3.96 ms (±0.69), and pooled EBSLN latency was 3.56 ms (±0.49), both significantly shorter than vagal latencies (P < .0001). There was no association between amplitude and latency parameters and tumor-size (> or <5 cm), body mass index (> or <25), age (> or <50 years), gender, or degree of neural dissection.
CONCLUSIONS: The unique right vagus, left vagus, and RLN latencies are characteristic of the individual nerves and allow identification (through the characteristic waveform latency) of an intact left or right vagus/RLN system. Timed recording of vagal waveform after thyroid lobectomy consequently documents intact ipsilateral vagal-RLN neural circuit and may be placed into the medical record as electrophysiologic documentation of existence of postresection complete neural integrity.
METHODS: 4.

OBJECTIVE: Despite increasing use of intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM), there is limited information on normative electrophysiologic electromyographic (EMG) parameters. The objective of this study was to define normative parameters of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) intraoperative neuromonitoring during thyroid surgery associated with normal postoperative vocal cord function.
METHODS: Prospective data collection in a tertiary care center.
METHODS: Quantitative analysis of evoked waveform amplitude and threshold was performed on 125 patients with 167 nerves at risk. Values were displayed as a mean with 5th percentile and 95th percentiles (5th-95th). Postoperative vocal cord function in all patients was documented.
RESULTS: All patients had normal postoperative laryngeal function (group I-normal) except for two patients who had postoperative transient vocal cord paralysis (group II-abnormal/outlier). The final amplitude between 247 and 3607 μV at the end of dissection/end of surgery was associated in all group I patients with a normal postoperative neural function. Final intraoperative amplitude measures for group II averaged just 97.5 μV, significantly different than our normative ranges obtained for group I, and fell outside of the group I 5% to 95% percentile range (P = .016). Final amplitude adequately predicted postoperative RLN impaired function immediately after surgery.
CONCLUSIONS: We propose IONM EMG data criteria that predict normal postoperative vocal cord function monitoring and provide information about nerve functioning at the end of the operation, thereby allowing adaptation of the surgical strategy when a bilateral procedure is indicated to avoid bilateral nerve paralysis.