gms | German Medical Science

85th Annual Meeting of the German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

German Society of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Head and Neck Surgery

28.05. - 01.06.2014, Dortmund

Range of electrical stimulation parameters in patients with Bilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis (BVCP) before and after receiving the Laryngeal Pacemaker

Meeting Abstract

  • corresponding author Rudolf Hagen - Univ.HNO-Klinik, Würzburg, Deutschland
  • Wilma Harnisch - Univ.HNO-Klinik, Würzburg
  • Marlen Bernhardt - Univ.HNO-Klinik, Würzburg
  • Fabian Kraus - Univ.HNO-Klinik, Würzburg
  • Claus Pototschnig - Univ.HNO-Klinik, Innsbruck, Austria
  • Andreas Müller - HNO-Klinik Waldklinikum Gera, Gera
  • Gerhard Förster - HNO-Klinik Waldklinikum Gera, Gera

Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. 85. Jahresversammlung der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Hals-Nasen-Ohren-Heilkunde, Kopf- und Hals-Chirurgie. Dortmund, 28.05.-01.06.2014. Düsseldorf: German Medical Science GMS Publishing House; 2014. Doc14hnod029

doi: 10.3205/14hnod029, urn:nbn:de:0183-14hnod0295

Published: April 14, 2014

© 2014 Hagen et al.
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/deed.en). You are free: to Share – to copy, distribute and transmit the work, provided the original author and source are credited.


Outline

Text

Introduction: BVCP patients were screened for acute electrically evoked vocal cord abduction. Nine patients were implanted with the Laryngeal Pacemaker within the first-in-human study. The characteristics of the stimulation parameters for a sufficient abduction of the treated vocal cord were evaluated for 6 months upon the activation of the device.

Methods: Screening of patients was performed under general anesthesia either via transoral approach with a flexible stimulation catheter or by transcricoidal method with a stimulation needle. Upon successful abduction of a vocal cord, the patients were implanted unilaterally with the Laryngeal Pacemaker. The response of the treated vocal cord to the stimulation was video-documented.

Results: In all the study patients, at least one vocal cord was able to be stimulated during the screening session. In all the patients participating in the 6-month follow-up program, the treated vocal cord regained abduction in response to the stimulation via the Laryngeal Pacemaker.

Conclusions: The newly developed laryngeal pacemaker is a promising tool to restore respiration in patients suffering from BVCP. The necessary current levels for stimulation of a sufficient abduction do not cause any discomfort to the patients.

Unterstützt durch: Medel Company

Der Erstautor gibt keinen Interessenkonflikt an.