Management of Implant Extrusion following Thyroplasty for Vocal Fold Paralysis: A Case Report

Abstract

The most widely used laryngeal surgery technique for patients with vocal fold paralysis is medialization thyroplasty. Materials such as Gore-Tex, silastic, and hydroxyapatite are often used, and the most worrisome possible complication is extrusion of the implant. A 36-year-old female patient with a history of pediatric cardiac surgery was diagnosed with left vocal cord paralysis after an episode of upper respiratory infection with a working diagnosis of subclinical left vocal cord paralysis following cardiac surgery. She underwent medialization thyroplasty with a Gore-Tex implant under local anesthesia. On the 21st postoperative day, she presented with sudden-onset hoarseness and dysphagia due to Gore-Tex implant extrusion. The implant was removed and augmentation of the left vocal cord with adipose tissue was performed. Only 14 cases of Gore-Tex implant extrusion have been described in the literature so far. The aim of this case report was not only to show one possible complication when using a Gore-Tex implant but also to present fat augmentation as one of the solutions for revision medialization and salvage treatment, with sustained long-term results.