What Researchers Did
Researchers reported on 18 patients with severe laryngeal radionecrosis treated with adjunctive hyperbaric oxygen therapy.
What They Found
Of 18 patients with severe laryngeal radionecrosis (2 grade 3, 16 grade 4), 13 (72.2%) experienced major improvement after a mean of 41 hyperbaric oxygen treatments. These 13 patients preserved their voice and deglutition and avoided total laryngectomy. The remaining 5 patients (27.8%) did not respond well to HBO and required total laryngectomy.
What This Means for Canadian Patients
Canadian patients suffering from severe laryngeal radionecrosis might consider hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a potential treatment to improve symptoms. This therapy could offer a chance to preserve their voice and avoid invasive procedures like total laryngectomy.
Canadian Relevance
This study has no direct Canadian connection.
Study Limitations
This study is limited by its small sample size and observational case series design, lacking a control group for comparison.