Laryngeal trauma. A historical comparison of treatment methods.

In the last 20 years, several authors have reported their experience with the treatment of laryngeal trauma. Over 200 cases of laryngeal trauma in the literature were reviewed and compared with the experience at Upstate Medical Center, Syracuse, NY. Special attention was paid to surgical v medical treatment, type and duration of stenting techniques, and time interval between injury and surgery. Results were compared in terms of voice and airway status. If surgical treatment is not required, the results for airway and voice are generally excellent. In those cases requiring open surgical treatment, the adequacy of airway was independent of the use or method of stenting. Superior voice results were obtained when stenting was not used. In general, better results were obtained when treatment was carried out within the first 24 hours.