Laryngo-pharyngeal desensitization following a prosthetic laryngoplasty

Summary A two-year-old Thoroughbred gelding presented eighty-one days after a left-sided prosthetic laryngoplasty (PL). The horse had a continual bilateral foamy ingesta stained nasal discharge as a consequence of dysphagia. An endoscopic examination revealed permanent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP), which appeared to be associated with a degree of laryngo-pharyngeal mucosal desensitization. The left arytenoid was fixed in a neutral position. It was postulated that the desensitization and thence pharyngeal dysfunction had resulted from surgical trauma to the cranial laryngeal nerve (CLN).