TREATMENT OF LARYNGEAL PAPILLOMAS WITH THE AID OF PHOTODYNAMIC LASER THERAPY

Laryngeal papillomas represent a disease of the head and neck that can be treated only symptomatically by surgical means. Twelve Patients (six adults and six children) with recurrent laryngeal papillomas were admitted to a pilot study for photodynamic laser treatment (Fig. 2). Forty-eight hours after intravenous application of hematoporphyrin derivative, PDT was performed by means of a specially developed laser light applicator (Fig. 1) under general anaesthesia. The laser light was generated by an argon-pumped dye laser system operating at a wavelength of 630 nm. On endoscopic evaluation the papilloma showed a whitish livid colour 24 hours after PDT. During the following 3-5 days the papilloma tissue was sloughed and the true and false vocal cords were covered by fibrin. Some 3 4 weeks after PDT the endolaryngeal mucosa had reepithelized in all patients with no signs of residual disease (Fig. 3). Despite the initial multifocal nature of the papilloma, even beyond the anterior comissure, no synechia developed.