Supraglottic surgery in vestibular cancer.

This paper deals with the experience acquired in the E.N.T. Clinic of the University of Ferrara regarding horizontal supraglottic laryngectomy in vestibular cancer. The anatomical background of this functional surgery and the most important principles of the technique are specified. The results regard 121 cases (13 T1 cases, 93 T2 cases and 15 T4 cases) divided into three groups: 1. patients who had only surgery (68 cases); 2. patients who for various reasons also had complementary postoperative radiotherapy (39 cases); 3. patients with extralaryngeal expansion who had preoperative radiotherapy (14 cases). The high overall survival rate for the 121 cases is particularly significant, as is the shortening of the high-risk period to less than the usual 5 years. The 4-year cure rate is 78% and remains unchanged right through the 7-year follow-up. The authors feel that these data demonstrate further the validity of supraglottic laryngectomy when its precise indications are rigorously observed.