Early Laryngeal Cancer Timeline: Open Partial Laryngectomy

Open partial laryngectomy removes the part of the larynx that holds the cancer through a cut in the neck and keeps the rest, so speaking and swallowing through the mouth return. It is used less often today and means a longer recovery than the other tracks.

This page is one of three treatment-track timelines for early laryngeal cancer. The steps before treatment, how a track is chosen and the follow-up schedule are covered on the early laryngeal cancer treatment timelines page.

Who follows this track

Most early laryngeal cancers are treated with transoral laser surgery or radiation. Open partial laryngectomy is mainly used when a tumor cannot be removed through the mouth with clear margins but the voice box can still be saved: for example, a less favorable T2 vocal cord cancer that grows deeply or makes a vocal cord move less, especially at the front junction of the vocal cords. For these tumors, the operation controls the cancer in the larynx in about 94 to 100 percent of cases and keeps the voice box in more than 95 percent. It needs an experienced surgical team and good lung function, because some food or liquid may slip toward the airway while swallowing is relearned. It is also used for some small cancers that come back after radiation.

Several types exist: a vertical partial laryngectomy removes one side of the larynx, a supraglottic laryngectomy removes the part above the vocal cords (with a neck dissection), and a supracricoid partial laryngectomy removes more of the larynx while keeping at least one of the small cartilages that move the vocal cords.

Before surgery (weeks 0 to 4)

The scope exam, biopsy, scans, meetings with the care team, voice and swallowing baseline and the tumor board's recommendation are the same on every track and are described on the overview page. Breathing tests (pulmonary function tests) and a swallowing baseline with a speech-language pathologist are added before this operation (see swallow evaluations).

Surgery and hospital stay (about weeks 4 to 6)

• Under general anesthesia, part of the larynx is removed through a cut on the front of the neck (see throat tumor treatments). For supraglottic cancers, a neck dissection is done at the same operation.

• The hospital stay is usually about 1 to 2 weeks, sometimes longer.

• A temporary tracheostomy, a breathing tube in the neck, protects the airway while swelling settles. It is often removed within about 1 to 3 weeks, though it can take longer (about 5 weeks on average after the supracricoid operation), and 85 to 100 percent of people eventually have it removed (see tracheostomy recovery).

• A temporary feeding tube through the nose provides nutrition while the area heals. Swallowing practice with a speech-language pathologist often starts about 1 week after surgery, and the tube is often removed within about 2 to 6 weeks.

On this track, surgery is the end of treatment, so the follow-up clock starts on the day of surgery.

Pathology results (about week 5)

About a week after surgery, the pathologist's report describes the tumor, the margins and any lymph nodes removed (see understanding pathology results). In this timeline the margins are clear and no further treatment is given. If the report shows cancer in the lymph nodes or other worrisome features, radiation, sometimes with chemotherapy, may follow, ideally within about 6 weeks of surgery.

Healing (weeks 4 to 34)

• Aspiration, food or liquid slipping into the airway, is the main early risk. Swallowing therapy teaches techniques that protect the airway, and most people move from liquids to soft foods and then a regular diet (see swallowing problem treatments).

• Swallowing improves over about 6 months, and most people return to a full diet; only about 2 to 5 percent need a long-term feeding tube.

• The voice changes. It takes about 3 to 8 months to settle and is usually rougher than after laser surgery; voice therapy helps.

• Neck healing after a neck dissection is described on the neck dissection recovery page.

• Return to work is often within 1 to 3 months.

Quality of life on this track

The first scores ("at diagnosis") were collected after the cancer was diagnosed and before treatment began, so they already reflect some of the burden of the cancer itself, not a person's quality of life before the cancer developed.

Average scores before and after open partial laryngectomy (0 to 100, higher is better). The solid points on the timeline come from a study that followed 60 people with stage I or II laryngeal cancer through the first year after surgery; the dashed points come from studies that mixed early and advanced cancers or asked people once, years later.

• Overall: 77 at diagnosis, 52 at 1 month, 64 at 3 months, 68 at 6 months and 73 at 1 year. In a 2026 study of 52 people (about a third with stage III or IV cancer, and some also treated with chemoradiation), the overall score averaged 48 one month after surgery and 67 by 2 years; a broader summary score from the same study averaged 84 at diagnosis, 70 at 1 month, 77 at 1 year and 80 at 2 years. People over 65 recovered more slowly.

• Swallowing: 94 at diagnosis, 66 at 1 month, when the feeding tube has usually just come out, 83 at 3 months, 85 at 6 months and 88 at 1 year. In the 2026 study the swallowing score averaged 72 at 1 year, with far more trouble in people over 65, and 87 at 2 years. Studies that asked once, years later, found 93 on a 20 to 100 scale about 2 years after supracricoid partial laryngectomy in 21 people, and 79 on the same scale about 4 years after open partial laryngectomy in 71 people.

• Voice: results vary widely with the type of operation, and the voice is usually rougher than before. In the 2026 study the speech score averaged 59 at 2 years, and speech problems at 1 year were much greater in people over 65. About 4 years after open partial laryngectomy, the 71 people in the Italian study rated the effect of their voice on daily life at 77 on a 0 to 100 scale, higher being better.

• Mood: 74 at diagnosis, 73 at 1 month, 89 at 3 months, 94 at 6 months and 95 at 1 year. In the 2026 study, mood averaged 82 at diagnosis, 66 at 1 month and 84 at 2 years.

Where the numbers come from: the solid points are from a study in Vietnam that followed 60 people with stage I or II laryngeal cancer from before open partial laryngectomy to 1 year after, alongside groups treated with laser surgery or total laryngectomy; its overall scores are shown on the same higher-is-better scale as the other timelines. The dashed points are from the 2026 South Korean study of 52 people (its two age groups combined using their sizes), a Chinese study of 21 people a median of 29 months after supracricoid partial laryngectomy (two thirds with stage I or II cancer), and an Italian study of 71 people a median of about 4 years after open partial laryngectomy. A Brazilian study of 17 people about 2 years after supracricoid partial laryngectomy found 88 for overall quality of life, 85 for swallowing, 65 for speech and 69 for mood. Swallowing and speech are shown as 100 minus the score of the head and neck questionnaire, so that higher means better. Averages describe groups of people, not what any one person will feel. The questionnaires are described on the quality-of-life questionnaires page.

Survival on this track

Survival depends mostly on the stage of the cancer rather than the operation. For T2 vocal cord cancer, about 90 to 94 percent of people do not die of laryngeal cancer within 5 years (disease-specific survival), and overall survival, from any cause, is about 75 to 80 percent. After supracricoid partial laryngectomy for T2 cancer, the cancer is controlled in the larynx in about 94 to 100 percent.

Check-ups and long-term care

• Check-ups follow the usual schedule counted from the end of treatment: every 1 to 3 months in the first year, every 2 to 6 months in the second, every 4 to 8 months in years 3 to 5, then yearly.

• Each visit includes a scope exam of the larynx in the office (see fiberoptic laryngoscopy). Scans are used when symptoms or the exam call for them.

• Swallowing is checked over time. Some people breathe in small amounts of food or liquid without coughing ("silent aspiration"), so coughing or choking while eating, pneumonia or weight loss leads to a repeat swallow study.

• Lymphedema, swelling under the chin or in the neck, can follow a neck dissection and responds best to therapy started early.

• Without radiation, the thyroid, carotid artery and dental effects of radiation do not apply, and radiation remains available if it is ever needed. Regular dental care continues as usual.

• Staying tobacco-free lowers the chance of a new cancer in the lungs, mouth, throat or esophagus.