Abstract:ObjectiveTo investigate the occurrence and causes of oropharyngeal complications of selfretaining laryngoscopic (SRL) vocal surgery. MethodsSixtythree patients were included in this study. All the patients received selfretaining microlaryngoscope vocal surgery under general anesthesia from March to November in 2011. Their oropharyngeal complications were analyzed prospectively.ResultsVocal surgery was performed successfully in all patients. Minor oropharyngeal complications occurred in 37 patients with an incidence rate of 58.7%, including dental injury (n=8; 12.7%), toothache or sore teeth (n=13; 20.6%), difficulty in swallowing (n=20; 31.7%), jaw pain (n=6; 9.5%), taste alteration (n=4; 6.3%), dry mouth (n=17; 27%) and numbness of tongue (n=17; 27%). A correlation between operation time and risk of oropharyngeal complication was observed, and the number of complications in the same patient was also correlated with the operation time.ConclusionThe incidence rate of minor oropharyngeal complications in SRL surgery is high, but most of them are temporal. The complication risk can be reduced by shortening operation time and improving operation skill and devices.