Associated Laryngeal Paralysis: Presentation of a Case of Bilateral Abductor Paralysis in a Patient with the Arnold-Chiari Deformity

By associated laryngeal paralysis is meant a paralysis of the vocal cord, which may be unilateral or bilateral, found in association with other neurologic signs due to pathology encroaching, usually, upon the last four cranial nerves. This subject is of interest not only to the otolaryngologist, who is consulted because of symptoms of hoarseness or dysphagia, but also to the neurologist, internist, and chest surgeon, for we are not dealing with a disease entity but with signs of disease elsewhere, namely, within the cranium, nasopharynx, neck, or mediastinum. According to Clerf, paralysis of the vocal cords is due in 90% of all the cases to peripheral lesions, i.e., all the types outside of the medulla. The other 10% of the cases are due to lesions in the medulla. Cody in 1946 reviewed 734 cases of all types of laryngeal paralysis and found that only 30 cases (i.e., 4% of