ArticleWorld journal of surgery2023
A Prospective Study Evaluating the Feasibility and Accuracy of Post-operative Laryngeal Ultrasonography (LUSG) in Assessment of Vocal Cord Function After Esophagectomy.
Article in World journal of surgery, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
2 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 3 citations in OpenAlex.
- Diagnostic performance of transcutaneous laryngeal ultrasound for vocal cord paralysis after esophagectomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Esophagus : official journal of the Japan Esophageal Society · 2026Pooled it
- Clinical Applications of Laryngeal Ultrasonography: A Review.Journal of voice : official journal of the Voice Foundation · 2025Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 1 institution in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundVocal cord paresis (VCP) is a serious complication after esophagectomy. Conventional diagnosis of VCP relies on flexible laryngoscopy (FL), which is invasive. Laryngeal ultrasonography (LUSG) is non-invasive and convenient. It has provided accurate VC evaluation after thyroidectomy but it is unclear if it is just as accurate following esophagectomy. This prospective study evaluated the feasibility and accuracy of LUSG in VC assessment on day-1 after esophagectomy.
methodsConsecutive patients from a tertiary teaching hospital who underwent elective esophagectomy were prospectively recruited. All received pre-operative FL, and post-operative LUSG and FL on Day-1, each performed by a blinded, independent assessor. The primary outcomes were feasibility and accuracy of LUSG in the diagnosis of VCP on Day-1 post-esophagectomy. The accuracy of voice assessment (VA) was analyzed.
resultsTwenty-six patients were eligible for analysis. The median age was 70 years (66-73). Majority were male (84.6%). Twenty-five (96.2%) received three-phase esophagectomy. Twenty-four (96%) had same-stage anastomosis at the neck. Three (11.5%) developed temporary and one (3.8%) developed permanent unilateral VCP. Overall VC visualization rate by LUSG was 100%; sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value (NPV) and accuracy of LUSG were 75.0%, 100%, 100%, 98.0%, 98.1% respectively, and superior to VA. Combining LUSG with VA findings could pick up all VCPs i.e. improved sensitivity and NPV to 100%.
conclusionLUSG is a highly feasible, accurate and non-invasive method to evaluate VC function early after esophagectomy. Post-operative FL may be avoided in patients with both normal LUSG and voice.
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