Type of Surgery
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Last updated: 11/24/2009
The American Cancer Society estimates that, in 2003, about 9,500 people in the United States will be found to have laryngeal cancer. Laryngeal cancer occurs 4.4 times more frequently in men than in women, although, like lung cancer, it is becoming...
increasingly common in women. Tobacco smoking is by far the greatest risk factor for laryngeal cancer. Others include alcohol abuse, radiation exposure, asbestos exposure, and genetic factors. In the United Kingdom, cancer of the larynx is quite rare, affecting under 3,000 people each year.
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The lungs are comprised of thousands of alveoli or air sacs. These structures are only one or two cells thick at places but they are able to separate blood and inhaled air. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged across this thin membrane, as the narrated animation explains.
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Laryngectomy is the removal of the larynx and separation of the airway from the mouth, nose, and esophagus. The laryngectomee breathes through an opening in the neck, a stoma. It is done in cases of laryngeal cancer. However, many laryngeal cancer cases are now treated only with radiation and chemotherapy or other laser procedures, and laryngectomy is performed when those treatments fail to conserve the larynx.
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The development of the operative plan for a type of complex procedure requires weeks of planning and extensive study of the recipient patient’s clinical exam, radiological studies, and prior operative history.
-Dr. Daniel Alam
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