Transoral Laser Microsurgery in Early Glottic Lesions

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To give an overview of the evolvement of transoral laser microsurgery (TLM) in the treatment of early glottic carcinoma and highlight the contribution of recent literature. RECENT FINDINGS: The indications and limits of TLM have been well specified. Effects on swallowing have been well documented. Introduction of narrow-band imaging (NBI) and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance has been shown of additional value for outcome. The first reports on transoral robotic surgery show that it may be of added value in the future. SUMMARY: TLM for early glottic carcinoma (Tis–T2) has very good oncological outcomes with indications of higher larynx preservation in TLM than that in radiotherapy. The anterior commissure is a risk factor if involved in the cranio-caudal plane, and reduced vocal fold mobility is a risk factor when this is due to arytenoid involvement. The best voice results are achieved when the anterior commissure can be left intact along with part of the vocal fold muscle although even in larger resections, patient self-reported voice handicap is still limited.