Laryngeal Papillomas
Laryngeal papillomatosis is a difficult disease to manage, and patients with this disease are at risk of cancer and death. These infections are caused by human papillomaviruses of which there are more than 30. Human papillomavirus type 11 causes both genital warts (condyloma accuminata) and laryngeal papillomas. Available data indicate that neonates acquire this virus as they pass through a birth canal infected with human papillomavirus type 11.
Laryngeal papillomas occur in children younger than 10 years of age, and the incidence peaks between the ages of 2 and 5 years. Signs of the disease are voice change, abnormal cry, and airway obstruction; it spontaneously regresses or becomes malignant.
