[Treatment of carcinomas of the vallecula and epiglottis by supraglottal surgery. Indications and therapeutic results].

A study of 87 cases of carcinoma of the vallecula and the epiglottis (margin and vestibulum) with the common feature of an essentially identical surgical technique: supraglottal horizontal laryngectomy. In the case of vallecular lesions (34 cases from T1 to T4) this operation, performed from below upwards with lymph node dissection and associated with postoperative radiotherapy, gave oncological results identical to those of total laryngectomy and better than those of other protocols based upon radiotherapy. From a functional standpoint, despite two deaths due to bronchopneumonia, with careful respect paid to local and general contraindications there were no prolonged problems, even if the postoperative course was somewhat longer in lesions of the epiglottis. Carcinomas of the epiglottis (53 cases) did not receive radiotherapy where resection was adequate and lymph node histology negative. The results, better than in those cases involving the vallecula, seemed to be identical to those published in the literature. Such partial surgery, with preservation of the voice, should thus be beneficial in patients suffering from such lesions, in particular when the larynx is unaffected.