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Background: Laryngeal re-innervation in paediatric unilateral vocal fold paralysis is a relatively new treatment option, of which there has been little reported experience in Europe. Methods: In this European case report of a 13-year-old boy with dysphonia secondary to left-sided unilateral vocal fold paralysis after cardiac surgery, the patient underwent re-innervation using an ansa cervicalis to recurrent laryngeal nerve transfer, in combination with fat augmentation, after 12 years of nerve denervation. Perceptual analysis data, and acoustic and laryngoscopy recordings were acquired pre-operatively, and at one and two years post-operatively. Results: The patient's perceptual voice quality was improved. He experienced subjective improvement and is very satisfied with the result. As expected, laryngoscopy at one and two years after surgery showed no physiological mobility of the vocal fold concerned, but improved closure during phonation was achieved. Electromyography showed evidence of re-innervation. Conclusion: Laryngeal re-innervation could be considered as a treatment option for unilateral vocal fold paralysis in children and adolescents, even after a long-term delay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Standardization of voice outcomes indicators (VOIs) is an important issue when it comes to evaluating and comparing surgical treatments for Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis (UVFP). In a recent review, 11 VOIs were found to represent 80% of the VOIs cited in the literature. A survey was launched among the European laryngologists to acquire surgeons' opinions on the above mentioned preselected VOIs., Material and Method: The electronic survey took place between November and December 2016. Three general questions were asked about surgeon's practice setting(s) and experience. The eleven next questions concerned (a) surgeon's VOIs preference and (b) their estimates of post-operative target values, they would consider being satisfactory., Results: The response rate was 16% (50 surveys). The majority of responders worked in tertiary hospitals (50%), had 15 years of experience with UVFP and performed on average 20 UVFP related procedures a year. The VOIs that were favored by the responding surgeons were, in decreasing order of importance, Voice handicap Index (VHI-30), Maximum Phonation Time (MPT), GRBAS-I, Mean Airflow Rate (MeAF), Jitter and Shimmer. There was an excellent consensus on post-operative VOI target values between survey's results and the literature data, except for three VOIs that showed somewhat divergent tendencies (absolute VHI-30, Jitter and Shimmer)., Conclusions: Three VOIs are favored by surgeons: VHI-30, MPT and GRBAS-I. Jitter and Shimmer, although very frequently reported and statistically valid in the literature, come last concerning surgeon's choice as VOI for UVFP treatment assessment., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)