Method of relieving airway obstruction in patients with bilateral vocal impairment

摘要

Airway obstruction in a patient with bilateral impairment of mobility of the vocal cords may be relieved by a method comprising implanting an electrode of a neural electrical stimulator comprising a pulse generator such that the electrode stimulates the posterior cricoarytenoid muscle, thereby resulting in abduction of the vocal cords and relief of airway obstruction. This method of relieving airway obstruction is based, at least in part, on the discovery that the implantation of an electrical pulse generator previously used in the stimulation of the spinal cord into a dog model of human BVCP was successful in chronically stimulating the PCA without the development of significant muscle abnormality. In various embodiments, electrical stimulation of the PCA may be accomplished either by the manual or magnetic activation of a switch which triggers the firing of the pulse generator or, alternatively, the power source of the pulse generator may be adapted to provide an electrical stimulus automatically in a predetermined sequence such that vocal cord abduction and adduction are caused to occur in a sequence selected to correspond to the respiratory needs of the patient.