Laryngeal Paralysis in Children

Masamitsu Hyodo, Takahiko Yamagata, Kazumi Motoyoshi and Aki Taguchi Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis in children is a relatively rare disease. Its clinical features in children are considered dissimilar to those in adults. Here we present 11 cases of children with recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis and discuss the manner of treatment for this disease. Clinical features compared and found to differ with those in adults are summarized as follows: 1) congenital paralysis is the most common cause, 2) bilateral paralysis is frequent, 3) congenital systemic abnormalities are frequently combined, 4) respiratory disorder is the most critical symptom especially in infants, 5) vocal cord movement ordinarily recovers in a few years especially in patients with congenital paralysis. Management strategies should be focused on the maintenance of a safe and stable airway and the acquisition of intelligible speech. Less traumatic laterofixation of the vocal cord by Ejnell's procedure is a preferable surgical treatment for prolonged respiratory disorder due to bilateral laryngeal paralysis.