Multicenter cohort study demonstrates low 30-day complication rates after vocal fold paralysis surgery, highlighting the perioperative safety of both unilateral and bilateral interventions.
Surgical intervention for unilateral and bilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP and BVFP, respectively) aims to restore voice and airway patency, yet large-scale safety data remain sparse. This study evaluates 30-day perioperative safety outcomes across a multi-institutional cohort. The ACS-NSQIP database (2008–2023) was queried for patients undergoing laryngeal intervention for UVFP or BVFP. Preoperative characteristics, 30-day complications, and reoperation rates were analyzed. Of 931 patients, 857 (92%) had UVFP and 74 (8.0%) had BVFP. The overall complication rate was 3.3% ( n = 31), with a reoperation rate of 0.97% ( n = 9). No patient with BVFP and only one patient with UVFP required prolonged postoperative ventilation beyond 48 h. No significant differences were found between groups for major surgical or medical complications ( p > 0.05). Surgical intervention for UVFP and BVFP is a safe intervention with low morbidity. These findings provide a valuable benchmark for preoperative counseling and risk stratification. Future prospective studies are warranted to confirm our findings.
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Schaschinger et al. (2026) studied this question.
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