Editors: Marvin P. Fried, MD; and Melin Tan, MD
Publisher: Thieme – 256 pages
Book Review by: Nano Khilnani

Based on the founding years of several professional organizations, the editors point out that laryngology is one of the earliest recognized medical specialties: nearly about a century and a half in existence. The New York Laryngological Society was formed in 1873, and the American Laryngological Association came into being about five years later in 1878.

Knowledge about the larynx and the surrounding areas, as well as about the diseases associated with it, has grown tremendously over the years. This knowledge base has expanded through basic and investigative research, and advanced diagnostic techniques by practitioners. As a result better treatment methods for various diseases have developed.

This book presents that valuable knowledge gathered by some of the most expert laryngologists and speech pathologists in the United States. It includes their insight which deepens mainly through practice, especially by handling rare cases.

Forty-two specialists who teach and practice laryngology, otology, and rhinology, or combinations thereof, at various medical schools and hospitals, wrote the 23 chapters of this book shown on its Contents page as shown below. These people are from all over the United States, except one contributor from Japan.

  1. Anatomy of the Larynx
  2. Physiology of the Larynx
  3. Evaluation and Management of the Dysphonic Patient
  4. Evaluation and Examination of the Patient with Dysphagia
  5. Laryngeal Inflammation
  6. Laryngopharyngeal Reflux
  7. Benign Lesions of the  Vocal Folds
  8. Benign Tumors of the Larynx
  9. Vocal Fold Immobility
  10. Laryngeal Stenosis
  11. Neurologic and Neuromuscular Diseases
  12. Systemic and Endocrine Disorders of the Larynx
  13. Laryngeal Trauma
  14. Laryngeal Malignancy
  15. Chronic Aspiration
  16. Care of the Professional Voice
  17. Principles of Phonosurgery
  18. Voice Therapy
  19. Swallow Rehabilitation
  20. Tracheotomy
  21. Pediatric Laryngology
  22. Cough and the United Airway
  23. Office-Based Laryngeal Surgery

This book covers the issues that practitioners and residents face in treating patients who have any of the various diseases of the larynx and surrounding areas. It serves as a manual of common and everyday procedures that residents need to master. It provides up-to-date information needed by head and neck surgeons that care for patients with laryngeal problems as revealed in their pathology reports.

To give you an idea of the type of content you will find in a sample chapter and how that is organized, let’s take a look at chapter 12, Systemic and Endocrine Disorders of the Larynx. We are going to outline below only the main topics of discussion in this chapter, and not the subtopics:

  • Development and Puberty
  • Androgens
  • Estrogen and Progesterone
  • Thyroid Function and the Larynx
  • Diabetes and the Larynx
  • Hypophyseal Disorders
  • Key Points (a summary of the above topics)   

At the end of this chapter there is a large number of References – numbering 93 – much larger than in the other chapters. 

These are some of the notable features of this book:

  • It contains chapters on aspiration, cough, dysphagia, and tracheotomy
  • It includes more than 100 high-quality illustrations and clinical photographs that clarify the information in the text
  • It was written and edited by renowned experts in the field of laryngology

Editors:

Marvin P. Fried, MD, FACS is Professor and University Chairman of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery at Montefiore Medical Center, University Hospital of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York.

Melin Tan, MD is Assistant Professor in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at Montefiore Medical Center, University Hospital of Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, New York.