Dysphonia, dysphagia, and injury of recurrent laryngeal nerve with anterior cervical spinal fusion
Dysphagia, dysphonia and injuries of the recurrent laryngeal nerve still remain the most frequent complications of anterior cervical spinal fusion despite rich world experience, high technological level of anterior supporting complex surgeries. These complications very seldom lead to life-threatening situations, but they reduce patients’ quality of life during the early post-surgical period and patients’ satisfaction with the results of the surgery. The main reasons of intraoperative damage of esophagus, larynx and recurrent laryngeal nerve, methods of dysphagia and dysphonia prevention are described in this work.