Oncologic and functional outcomes of salvage supracricoid partial laryngectomy

Background: Supracricoid partial laryngectomy (SCL) can have a positive impact on patients’ quality of life by circumventing dysphagia and voice problems resulting from creation of a permanent stoma after conventional total laryngectomy (TL) surgery. Aims/Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the oncologic and functional outcomes of salvage SCL for recurrent laryngeal carcinoma. Material and methods: Forty-five patients that underwent salvage surgery for recurrent laryngeal carcinoma between January 2004 and May 2015 after initial treatment failure were included in this retrospective study. Results: Overall survival and disease free survival were non-significantly higher in the salvage SCL group (n = 14) than in the salvage TL group (n = 31) (87.5 versus 56.5%, 53.4 versus 41.9%). Multivariate analyses showed only positive resection margin to be significantly associated with survival and recurrence (HR 9.974, p =.007, and HR 9.196, p =.002, respectively). In the salvage SCL group, 92.8% achieved successful decannulation and all patients returned to an oral diet. All patients in the salvage TL group sustained a permanent stoma and conversation was possible only through esophageal voice or a voice prosthesis. 74.2% of patients in the group were able to tolerate an oral diet. Conclusions and significance: Salvage SCL showed comparable oncologic outcomes and favorable functional outcomes relative to the classic salvage TL. This study could provide a sufficient basis of SCL as salvage treatment for recurrent laryngeal carcinoma in selected patients.