Post‐radiation perichondritis and cartilage necrosis of the larynx

Abstract

Under certain circumstances laryngeal cartilage damage following radiation therapy can take place. Two cases of post‐radiation perichondritis with cartilage necrosis are reported, and the factors predisposing to its development, the methods of treatment, and the techniques of radiation therapy are discussed. The danger of repeated intralaryngeal manipulation in the radiation patient is stressed. The authors advise that T1N0 and T2N0 laryngeal lesion be treated with 6,000 rads over a three to five‐week period. Homogeneity is achieved in the treated volume by employing wedged filters. Surgery is advised in T3 or larger lesions usually after preoperative cobalt radiation.

Laryngeal chondronecrosis after radiation therapy in a dog

“…Factors related to laryngeal radionecrosis can be divided into two groups; (1) RT‐dependent including dose, technique, field size, duration and radiation fraction (McGovern et al . , Chandler ) and (2) patient factors, which include damage of the cartilage by the tumour, cartilage trauma (chronic or acute), chemotherapy, upper airway infection or inflammation, endocrinopathies and hypertension (McGovern et al . , Flood & Brightwell , Miyaguchi et al .…”

“…, Chandler ) and (2) patient factors, which include damage of the cartilage by the tumour, cartilage trauma (chronic or acute), chemotherapy, upper airway infection or inflammation, endocrinopathies and hypertension (McGovern et al . , Flood & Brightwell , Miyaguchi et al . , Cukurova & Cetinkaya ).…”

“…Laryngeal radionecrosis has been variably defined in the literature with the term often being used to refer to variable amounts of oedema, frank necrosis of the cartilage or both (McGovern et al 1973, Mintz et al 1981, O'Brien 1996. Factors related to laryngeal radionecrosis can be divided into two groups; (1) RT-dependent including dose, technique, field size, duration and radiation fraction (McGovern et al 1973, Chandler 1979 and (2) patient factors, which include damage of the cartilage by the tumour, cartilage trauma (chronic or acute), chemotherapy, upper airway infection or inflammation, endocrinopathies and hypertension (McGovern et al 1973, Flood & Brightwell 1984, Miyaguchi et al 1997, Cukurova & Cetinkaya 2010. The cartilaginous framework becomes defective and unstable in a patient with laryngeal chondronecrosis.…”

“…Laryngeal radionecrosis has been variably defined in the literature with the term often being used to refer to variable amounts of oedema, frank necrosis of the cartilage or both (McGovern et al . , Mintz et al . , O’Brien ).…”

Chondroradionecrosis of the larynx: still a diagnostic dilemma

“…The expected incidence of chondroradionecrosis is nowadays taken as less than one per cent (Oppenheimer et al, 1989). There are a number of possible precipitating factors, the most important of which are considered to be radiotherapeutic factors (McGovern et al, 1973;Chandler, 1979). The incidence of this complication is directly related to the total dose, the number of fractions, the field size and the duration of therapy (Chandler, 1979).…”