A case of unilateral recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy caused by neck extension injury

Abstract

A 63-year-old man collided with a vehicle while riding a motorcycle. At an emergency hospital, he was diagnosed with cerebral concussion, incomplete cervical cord injury, C6 fracture, facial bone fractures, and lacerations. Radiographical findings indicated that his neck was forced into an extended position. At our rehabilitation hospital, we evaluated the patient’s hoarseness and dysphagia 1 month posttrauma and determined the diagnosis to be due to “traumatic right recurrent laryngeal nerve palsy (RLNP).” We followed the patient’s RLNP during admission and at our outpatient clinic. His right RLNP gradually recovered and finally disappeared 6 months after the accident. We describe this case within the context of a review of the literature.

Delayed Bilateral Vocal Cord Paralysis Following Cervical Spine Trauma

“…BLVCP can be caused by iatrogenic injury with anterior neck surgeries, prolonged endotracheal intubation, tumors of the neck and thorax, brainstem strokes, neurodegenerative or demyelinating diseases, systemic inflammatory or infectious conditions, intrinsic vocal cord pathology, and traumatic injuries to the head and neck [3]. Non-surgical trauma is the least common with only a handful of cases reported in the literature [4][5][6][7][8][9].…”