No abstract

Lingual thyroid represents the only functioning thyroid tissue in the body in 70-80% of the cases, surgical ablation of which will produce hypothyroidism. Transposition of the lingual ectopic thyroid with its vasculary supply intact as a pedicle graft is presented. This seems to be the most locigal approach in preserving the viability and function of these ectopic tissues.

Four children with foreign bodies found outside the lumen of the upper food and air passages are presented. The diagnostic difficulty of such extraluminal foreign bodies and the importance of accurate localization by endoscopy and radiologic examination prior to external surgical removal are discussed.

Overwhelming statistics have been published regarding the success of radiation therapy in the management of laryngeal carcinoma. The fate of those patients whose cancers are not controlled by radiotherapy is often left to speculation. An analysis is made of 61 patients with early and advanced laryngeal cancer treated initially with radiation therapy and subsequently operated upon because of recurrent or persistent tumor. Frequently, diagnosis of recurrence is difficult or delayed. Preservation of voice can only be accomplished when recurrence of T1 and T2 lesions is detected early and strict criteria are followed. Conservation surgery is not feasible for early lesions which progress after radiation failure. Advanced T2 and T4 lesions which become radiation failures also require laryngectomy for salvage. In cancer of the larynx, there is a definite, identifiable group of patients in whom surgery would be advisable as the initial therapy.

The end results of 264 patients with vocal cord carcinoma treated by either surgery or radiation therapy at the University of Illinois from 1955 to 1972 are analyzed. Stage I glottic carcinoma can be cured by either surgery or radiation alone (86 percent and 80 percent). Stage II glottic cancer treated by surgery has achieved survival rates of 70 percent. The five-year end results of Stage III glottic cancer are 49 percent for surgery and 30 percent for radiation. The management of glottic carcinoma, according to anatomic site and indications for various modalities are discussed.