Professor Boerhave of Leyden (1668-1738) and Morgagni of Padua described the appearances of cancer of the pharynx. But no great advance in knowledge of the disease in the pharyngeal region was made until 1854 with the discovery of the laryngoscope by Garcia. Billroth in 1873 reported the first complete extirpation of the larynx. Fifty odd years ago, Morell MacKenzie said, "The only possible termination of cancer is death." The disasters of these early days caused Jacobson to write in his "Operations of Surgery": Until these operations—and I refer especially to laryngectomy partial and complete—are placed upon a more satisfactory basis, they should only be performed whenever this is possible, and it usually is so, by those who combine a thorough mastery of general surgical technic and an especial training in laryngology. The operation of laryngofissure, as perfected by Sir St. Clair Thomson1and Chevalier Jackson, has made it a