Benign lesions of the larynx: should the laser be used?

The use of the carbon dioxide (CO2) laser in the treatment of patients with benign laryngeal lesions, excluding respiratory papillomatosis, has been questioned because of potential adverse thermal effects on surrounding tissue. We question whether wound healing and subsequent quality of voice would be better if the surgeon used the "cold technique" with microlaryngeal instruments. Since the advent, in 1987, of a small-spot (0.3 mm) CO2 laser micromanipulator and more precise microlaryngeal instruments, we have redefined our use of the CO2 laser for benign laryngeal lesions. Over the past 4 years, in a series of 68 consecutive patients with vocal cord nodules, polyps, polypoid changes, or granulomas, the CO2 laser was useful for mucosal micro-flap dissection techniques and for vascular lesions. Smaller pedunculated lesions, such as vocal cord nodules, were more efficiently removed with the new microlaryngeal instrumentation. The combined selective use of a microspot CO2 laser at low-power settings (1 to 3 W), with 0.1-second pulses, and with precise microlaryngeal instruments will give the best results.