Unilateral vocal fold paralysis as a port complication

Abstract

Unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) is a frequent finding in otorhinolaryngology practice, but its occurrence as a port complication was very rarely described in English Literature. The authors report a 55-year-old woman with a pancreatic adenocarcinoma who presented a left vocal fold paralysis that occurred concurrently with a venous thrombosis of the left subclavian vein, where a totally implantable venous-access had been previously placed. Although the patient’s oncologic disease, that could mislead to a neoplastic cause of the UVFP, the authors came across with an unusual etiology and to their best knowledge, it is the first case of irreversible UVFP associated with onsite thrombosis of the vessel where a port was implanted. The objective of this article is to present and discuss this rare case of UVFP secondary to a port complication and to review the main mechanisms of iatrogenic vocal fold paralysis related to these devices.