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Anyone experience Laryngeal chondroradionecrosis years post treatment?
I had been treated with radiation and chemotherapy for SCC base of tongue in 2009. I had many side effects from radiation including osteoradionecrosis of the jaw bone, esophageal stenosis from scar tissue, radiation induced brachial plexopathy, Baroreflex failure, orthostatic hypotension, scarring of the neck, dysphagia requiring feeding tube for 100% of nutrition and hydration. For the last 10 days I have been experiencing pain on the left (irradiated) side of my larynx. I went to see and ENT specialist and his diagnosis was erosion of the lateral side of the larynx cartilage (LCRN) or laryngeal chondro- radionecrosis. I wasn't expecting that as it was something I had never heard about. I have to admit that I was a little skeptical of the diagnosis with such limited information and testing. The pain is on the one side only and anytime I swallow saliva, cough or sneeze it is very painful, but I am comfortable at rest. I wonder if anyone has experienced this rather rare late onset problem and what treatment options are available? My ENT doctor suggested I see a specialist who manages pain as he offered no treatment for this condition except pain management.
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You've been through a lot to survive. I'll admit I had to do some searching to even understand all that you've been through. My treatment was in 2006, and though I've had many complications, some developing much later, I consider myself fortunate when I read about what others have gone through. I've learned a great deal about my conditions by what I've read here. The only advice I can offer is to do a search for Google Scholar, the search engine that focuses on research. A quick search revealed many articles. Here's an excerpt from a paper by Rev. Col. Bras. Cir. 44 (4) • Jul-Aug 2017 • https://doi.org/10.1590/0100-69912017004012:
"Conclusions: the incidence of chondroradionecrosis as a complication of chemoradiotherapy in our series was 10,7% and the treatment with hiperbaric oxigen therapy, based in our flowchart, was effective to control this complication."
Good luck!
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3 Reactions@hillx001 you have really had all the complications. I admire your strength. The above article mentioned does explain it as an infrequent occurrence. If it were me, I would seek out a referral to an ENT program at a large referral or cancer center. When we have something that is not commonly seen, we need to find a medical team who knows how to deal with it. I suspect you are no stranger to advocating for your medical care and here is another reason to keep pushing. If hyperbaric O2 therapy can bring about healing for you, then it is worth pursuing. I wish that we didn't have to deal with all these radiation late effects, but then it is better than the alternative of no treatment. Do you live close to a large medical or cancer center?
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2 Reactions@sepdvm
Thank you for your response. I am about 2.5 hours drive from the University of Minnesota where I received most of my treatment at the Masonic Cancer Center years ago when I lived in the Twin Cities. I had a wonderful ENT specialist who oversaw my diagnosis and coordinated my treatment at the Masonic Cancer Center. Unfortunately, he was recruited to be the Chief Medical Officer at another university out of state. More recently, I have been to the Mayo clinic for diagnosis of my baroreflex failure problem and that is about 4 hours drive away from where I currently live. I agree with your suggestion and plan to seek a second opinion from one of the above clinics to confirm the diagnosis and explore treatment options.
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