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Endoscopic supraglottic laryngectomy: a proposal for a classification by the working committee on nomenclature, European Laryngological Society

  • Laryngology
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Abstract

In July 1999, the European Laryngological Society (ELS) has accepted a proposal for the classification of different laryngeal endoscopic cordectomies. This is actually a common classification system used as a tool for surgical training, documentation and comparison of results. The same harmonization work is deemed necessary for the treatment of supraglottic lesions. The ELS is proposing a classification of the different laryngeal endoscopic supraglottic partial laryngectomies. This classification comprises four types of supraglottic laryngectomies: Type I, limited excision of small size superficial lesions of the free edge of the epiglottis, the ary-epiglottic fold, the arytenoid, or the ventricular fold or any other part of the supraglottis; Type II, medial supraglottic laryngectomy without resection of the pre-epiglottic space, suitable for T1 lesions of either the suprahyoid or the infrahyoid laryngeal surface of the epiglottis (Type IIa, superior hemi-epiglottectomy or Type IIb, total epiglottectomy, respectively); Type III, medial supraglottic laryngectomy with resection of the pre-epiglottic space, suitable for T1–T2 tumors of the infrahyoid endolaryngeal epiglottis without (Type IIIa) or with (Type IIIb) extension to the ventricular fold, necessitating its excision; finally, Type IV, lateral supraglottic laryngectomy, suitable for tumors of the threefolds’ region, which may include the ventricular fold (Type IVa) or the arytenoid (Type IVb), when involved. As in the cases of endoscopic cordectomies, these operations are similarly classified according to the surgical approach used and the degree of resection completed in order to facilitate their use in daily clinical practice.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Louvain at Mont-Godinne, 5530, Yvoir, Belgium

    Marc Remacle & Anne-Sophie Evrard

  2. 1st Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Hippocrateion General Hospital, University of Athens, Athens, Greece

    Anastasios Hantzakos

  3. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Regional Hospital, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Hans Eckel

  4. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, UK

    Patrick J. Bradley

  5. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Claude Huriez, University of Lille, Lille, France

    Dominique Chevalier

  6. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Medical Center, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Yugoslavia

    Vojko Djukic

  7. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital La Sapienza, University of Rome, Rome, Italy

    Marco de Vincentiis

  8. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Graz, Graz, Austria

    Gerhard Friedrich

  9. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Bergen, Bergen, Norway

    Jan Olofsson

  10. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Brescia, Brescia, Italy

    Giorgio Peretti

  11. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, Hospital Sant Pau, Barcelona, Spain

    Miquel Quer

  12. Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, University Hospital of Marburg, Marburg, Germany

    Jochen Werner

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  1. Marc Remacle
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  2. Anastasios Hantzakos
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  3. Hans Eckel
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  4. Anne-Sophie Evrard
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  5. Patrick J. Bradley
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  6. Dominique Chevalier
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  7. Vojko Djukic
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  8. Marco de Vincentiis
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  9. Gerhard Friedrich
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  10. Jan Olofsson
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  11. Giorgio Peretti
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  12. Miquel Quer
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  13. Jochen Werner
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Correspondence to Marc Remacle.

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Remacle, M., Hantzakos, A., Eckel, H. et al. Endoscopic supraglottic laryngectomy: a proposal for a classification by the working committee on nomenclature, European Laryngological Society. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol 266, 993–998 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-008-0901-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00405-008-0901-8

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