Undoing Vocal Paralysis
Abusing your vocal muscles will take its toll. Good thing, there is now a solution to this problem.
Researchers at John Hopkins have developed a method of relieving the voice changes due to vocal fold paralysis, atrophy, and other changes with a surgical implant made of a calcium compound that looks much like a block from a child’s LEGO set. Termed “laryngeal framework surgery,” the procedure repositions the vocal folds and modifies their tension. While the patient remains awake under local anesthesia, surgeons make a small incision in the neck over the larynx and cut a rectangular window in the thyroid cartilage and expose the vocal folds. The patient then vocalizes so that the implant can be properly sized and positioned. The technique is more accurate and less prone to cause rejection and other complications than the previous standard — the use of Teflon injections to increase the size of the folds. It is also reversible.
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