What happens when the recurrent laryngeal nerve is damaged?
Damage to the laryngeal nerve can result in loss of voice or obstruction to breathing. Laryngeal nerve damage can be caused by injury, tumors, surgery, or infection. Damage to the nerves of the larynx can cause hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing or breathing, or the loss of voice.
What is the effect of injury of external laryngeal nerve?
If one recurrent laryngeal nerve is damaged, it will result in dysphonia (difficulty with speech) and hoarseness. If there is bilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve damage, it can present as a surgical emergency with inspiratory stridor, aphonia, and laryngeal obstruction.
Which nerve is most commonly injured in thyroidectomy?
Injury to the Superior Laryngeal Nerve The external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (SLN) is probably the nerve most commonly injured in thyroid surgery, with an injury rate estimated at 0-25%.
What nerve Innervates vocal cords?
the vagus nerve
The primary innervation to the vocal folds comes from branches of the vagus nerve, which are the superior and inferior laryngeal nerves. The superior laryngeal nerve splits into the external laryngeal nerve and the internal laryngeal nerve approximately at the level of the greater horn of the hyoid.
Can a laryngeal nerve be repaired?
Results: Methods of immediate intraoperative repair of the RLN include direct end-to-end anastomosis, free nerve graft anastomosis, ansa cervicalis to RLN anastomosis, vagus to RLN anastomosis, and primary interposition graft. Techniques of nerve repair include micro-suturing, use of fibrin glue, and nerve grafting.
How do you treat recurrent laryngeal nerve damage?
The late treatment methods of RLN injury include thyroplasty, injection into and near vocal cords and arytenoid adduction, in order to move the vocal cords inward and to improve the voice; and laser arytenoidectomy, cordectomy, vocal cord abduction and fixation in order to expand glottis and improve the dyspnea.
What does the inferior laryngeal nerve innervate?
Inferior laryngeal branch of the recurrent laryngeal nerve: excluding the cricothyroid muscle [innervated by the superior laryngeal nerve], the inferior laryngeal branch of the recurrent laryngeal nerve innervates all intrinsic muscles of the larynx.
Can a damaged voice box be repaired?
In this surgery, a healthy nerve is moved from a different area of the neck to replace the damaged vocal cord. It can take as long as six to nine months before the voice improves. Some doctors combine this surgery with a bulk injection.
What is the most serious complication of thyroidectomy?
Hypocalcemia—This is the most common complication of thyroidectomy. Depending on how many parathyroid glands that are inadvertently removed, signs and symptoms can go from mild to severe.
Which nerves are at risk during a thyroidectomy?
The main structures that are jeopardized during thyroid surgery are those arising from the vagus nerve at various heights: the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve (EB-SLN) and the inferior laryngeal nerve.
What muscles abduct vocal cords?
Posterior cricoarytenoid – These are the only muscles involved in abduction. They open the glottis by pulling the back ends of the arytenoid cartilages together. This pulls the front ends (where the vocal folds attach) apart, therefore pulling the vocal folds apart. Lateral cricoarytenoid – These are adductors.
How long does it take for the laryngeal nerve to heal?
On comparing with the existing literature, the majority of the nerves recover function within the first 6 months after surgery.15, 16 However in our cohort, patients undergoing redo surgery had a longer recovery interval with some recovering function as late as 26 months.
What does the nervus laryngeus inferior supply?
the terminal branch of the recurrent laryngeal nerve as the latter passes deep to the inferior pharyngeal constrictor; it supplies the laryngeal mucosa inferior to the vocal folds and all laryngeal muscles except the cricothyroid. Synonym(s): nervus laryngeus inferior
Is the right inferior laryngeal nerve recurrent or nonrecurrent?
In roughly 1 out of every 100–200 people, the right inferior laryngeal nerve is nonrecurrent, branching off the vagus nerve around the level of the cricoid cartilage.
What muscles are innervated by the recurrent larynx?
The posterior cricoarytenoid muscles, the only muscles that can open the vocal cords, are innervated by this nerve. The recurrent laryngeal nerves are the nerves of the sixth pharyngeal arch. The existence of the recurrent laryngeal nerve was first documented by the physician Galen.
Where does the recurrent laryngeal nerve branch off?
The recurrent laryngeal nerves branch off the vagus, the left at the aortic arch, and the right at the right subclavian artery. The left RLN passes in front of the arch, and then wraps underneath and behind it. After branching, the nerves typically ascend in a groove at the junction of the trachea and esophagus.