Laryngology is the subfield of ENT that deals with the diagnosis and conservative and surgical treatment of voice, swallowing and airway disorders as well as laryngo/pharyngeal cancer. As a specialist field, it has developed rapidly over the past decades, partly due to improved understanding of the complex physiology of the larynx but also as a result of technical developments, allowing better access and superior visualisation of the larynx. Additionally, there is now a large range of medical materials and devices available to help the laryngologist perform delicate functional procedures such as a variety of lasers, injectables and implants. This has resulted in a broad subspeciality field, incorporating many types of practices ranging from the general ENT practices with focus on the treatment of common vocal fold lesions to specific clinics, often academic, for dysphagia in neurological patients, subglottic stenosis in children or endoscopic laser salvage of laryngeal cancer.

This presentation gives an overview of the development of the field of laryngology over the past decades and of what is currently being practiced within laryngology today regarding both standard of care and state of the art.