Symptoms of recurrence after laryngeal cancer surgery

Symptoms of laryngeal cancer recurrence after surgery? The throat is the passage through which we breathe. I remember that in the pharmacology class, the teacher gave an example, saying that people who often eat hot food have a higher chance of developing laryngeal cancer. Since then, I dare not eat too hastily. So, what are the symptoms of laryngeal cancer recurrence, and what should I pay special attention to after surgery?

Laryngeal cancer is a relatively common malignant tumor, accounting for about 1-5% of all tumors in the body. It ranks third in the field of otolaryngology, after nasopharyngeal cancer and nasal and paranasal sinus cancer. It is more common in men than women, and occurs in people aged 50-70 years. Depending on the location of the tumor, there are the following unique symptoms:

1. Supraglottic type:

Early symptoms include a foreign body sensation in the throat and discomfort in the throat. When the surface of the tumor ulcerates, there will be throat pain, which can be reflected to the ears and even affect swallowing. In the late stage, after the tumor erodes the blood vessels, blood in the sputum is often smelly. When the vocal cords are invaded, there will be hoarseness and difficulty breathing.

2. Glottal type:

The main symptom is hoarseness, which gradually worsens. When the tumor grows larger, it blocks the glottis, causing laryngeal wheezing and dyspnea, and in the late stage, there is blood in sputum and laryngeal obstruction.

3. Subglottic type:

There may be no symptoms in the early stage, but cough and bloody sputum may occur later. In the late stage, due to the blockage of the subglottic area by the tumor, breathing difficulties are common. The tumor may also penetrate the cricothyroid membrane, invade the thyroid gland and the anterior soft tissue, and infiltrate along the anterior wall of the esophagus.

4. Paraglottal type:

There may be no symptoms in the early stage, and it is easy to spread to the lateral paraglottic space. Its clinical characteristics are: hoarseness is the first symptom, and the vocal cords are often fixed first, but the tumor is not seen. Later, as the tumor spreads to the paraglottic space, infiltrates and destroys the laryngeal cartilage, there may be sore throat and irritating dry cough.