The impact of iatrogenic glottic atresia due to photodynamic therapy for laryngeal cancer: A report of two cases

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive therapy used in the treatment of premalignant and malignant diseases, including head and neck carcinomas. It can be applied before or after chemotherapy, irradiation, or surgery. Unlike irradiation and surgery, it can be repeated many times at the same site, and it is also associated with better cosmetic and functional outcomes [1]. We have treated 10 patients with laryngeal carcinomas with PDT since 1998, and herein we describe two such patients who developed vocal cord adhesion due to PDT. To our knowledge, there are no previous reports of patients with glottis atresia due to PDT, thus the cases reported herein are rare, and educationally valuable.