Affiliations 

  • 1 Department of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Kota Bharu, Kelantan, Malaysia
BMJ Case Rep, 2014;2014.
PMID: 24663247 DOI: 10.1136/bcr-2013-201033

Abstract

Bilateral vocal cord paralysis is a known possible complication following thyroid surgery. It owes to the close relationship between the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the thyroid gland. The most feared complication of bilateral vocal cord paralysis is airway compromise. We report the case of a 39-year-old woman who underwent total thyroidectomy for multinodular goitre. The surgery was uneventful. However she developed stridor in the recovery bay needing intubation. We postulate that the cause was attributed to bilateral vocal cord paresis due to the use of the intraoperative nerve monitoring (IONM) whose high setting throughout the surgery was overlooked. She made a complete recovery without the need of a tracheostomy. We share our lessons learnt from this case.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.