Supracricoid partial laryngectomy as salvage surgery for radiation therapy failure.

BACKGROUND The main concern in the treatment of laryngeal carcinomas is tumor control with preservation of laryngeal functions. We believe that salvage supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SPL) should be carefully considered in selected cases of radiotherapy failure, because it can offer the possibility of achieving adequate tumor control with preservation of laryngeal functions. METHODS A series of 31 patients who underwent an SPL as salvage procedure after radiotherapy failure was reviewed. RESULTS Locoregional control rate was 75%, with 60% 5-year overall survival; no patients were lost to follow-up, and a death-from-disease rate of 19.35% was recorded. Restoration of laryngeal functions was achieved in 89.29% of the patients. No statistically significant differences were found in locoregional control regarding anterior commissure involvement, elective neck dissection versus wait-and-see policy, pathologic positive neck disease, and restage I-II versus restage III-IV. CONCLUSION The oncologic and functional results indicate the consistency of salvage SPL, proposing this type of operation as a serious alternative to total laryngectomy in carefully selected cases.