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Vocal cord palsy as a sequela of paediatric cardiac surgery – a review

Part of: Surgery

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 April 2021

Aditi Sinha ,
Alexander Geragotellis ,
Guntaj Kaur Singh ,
Devika Verma ,
Daniyal Matin Ansari ,
Abdullah Tarmahomed ,
Emma Whitehall ,
Natalie Lowe ,
Amer Ashry  and
Amer Harky Open the ORCID record for Amer Harky [Opens in a new window]
Aditi Sinha
Affiliation:
St George’s University of London, London, UK
Alexander Geragotellis
Affiliation:
Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Anzio Road, Observatory, Cape Town, South Africa
Guntaj Kaur Singh
Affiliation:
University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire, Preston, UK
Devika Verma
Affiliation:
University of Central Lancashire, Lancashire, Preston, UK
Daniyal Matin Ansari
Affiliation:
St George’s University of London, London, UK
Abdullah Tarmahomed
Affiliation:
Department of Paediatric Cardiology, Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool, UK
Emma Whitehall
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Alder Hey Children Hospital, Liverpool, UK
Natalie Lowe
Affiliation:
Department of ENT, Alder Hey Children Hospital, Liverpool, UK
Amer Ashry
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Alder Hey Children Hospital, Liverpool, UK School of Medicine, University of Assiut, Assiut, Egypt
Amer Harky*
Affiliation:
Department of Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Alder Hey Children Hospital, Liverpool, UK Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Liverpool Heart and Chest Hospital, Liverpool, UK
*
Author for correspondence: Amer Harky, MBChB, MSc, MRCS, Department of Congenital Cardiac Surgery, Alder Hey Children Hospital, Liverpool, L14 5AB, UK. Tel: +44- 0151 228 4811. E-mail: amer.harky@lhch.nhs.uk
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Abstract

Background:

Vocal cord palsy is one of the recognised complications of complex cardiac surgery in the paediatric population. While there is an abundance of literature highlighting the presence of this complication, there is a scarcity of research focusing on the pathophysiology, presentation, diagnosis, and treatment options available for children affected by vocal cord palsy.

Materials and methods:

Electronic searches were conducted using the search terms: “Vocal Cord Palsy,” “VCP,” “Vocal Cord Injury,” “Paediatric Heart Surgery,” “Congenital Heart Surgery,” “Pediatric Heart Surgery,” “Vocal Fold Movement Impairment,” “VFMI,” “Vocal Fold Palsy,” “PDA Ligation.” The inclusion criteria were any articles discussing the outcomes of vocal cord palsy following paediatric cardiac surgery.

Results:

The two main populations affected by vocal cord palsy are children undergoing aortic arch surgery or those undergoing PDA ligation. There is paucity of prospective follow-up studies; it is therefore difficult to reliably assess the current approaches and the long-term implications of management options.

Conclusion:

Vocal cord palsy can be a devastating complication following cardiac surgery, which if left untreated, could potentially result in debilitation of quality of life and in severe circumstances could even lead to death. Currently, there is not enough high-quality evidence in the literature to aid recognition, diagnosis, and management leaving clinicians to extrapolate evidence from adult studies to make clinical judgements. Future research with a focus on the paediatric perspective is necessary in providing evidence for good standards of care.

Keywords

Vocal cord palsyvocal cord injurypaediatric heart surgerycongenital heart surgeryrecoveryoutcomes
Type
Original Article
Information
Cardiology in the Young , Volume 31 , Issue 12 , December 2021 , pp. 1929 - 1937
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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