Vol.102 No.4 contentsPRACTICA OTO-RHINO-LARYNGOLOGICA
Vol. 102 No. 4 April 2009
Type 3 Thyroplasty for a Patient with Vocal Fold Atrophy
Kazuhiro Nakamura and Tomoyuki Yoshida
(Tokyo Medical University Hachioji Medical Center)
Yusuke Watanabe
(International University of Health and Welfare Mita Hospital)
Mamoru Suzuki
(Tokyo Medical University)
There are a variety of morbid conditions that can cause atrophy of the vocal folds. We performed type 3 thyroplasty (Type 3) for atrophy of the vocal folds, and obtained a favorable outcome in terms of vocal function. This case is reported in this paper.
A 47-year-old male patient worked as a voice trainer for professional singers. In February 2006, he underwent emergency surgery for pontine hemorrhage. After discharge from the ICU, he found that his voice was weak and high-pitched.
After discharge from the hospital, the patient was referred to our hospital with a chief complaint of difficulty in speaking loudly.
At the initial examination, marked atrophy of the bilateral vocal folds was observed. There was no vocal fold paralysis. Before corrective surgery, the patient's speaking fundamental frequency (SFF) was 255 Hz, lowest pitch was 217 Hz. Since a decrease in SFF was recognized on manual testing, the patient was judged as having an indication for a Type 3 procedure. Speech analysis was conducted during surgery, and the SFF and lowest pitch were adjusted to 108 Hz and 103 Hz, respectively.
The voice parameters improved, as follows: SFF: 110 Hz, lowest pitch: 73 Hz, respectively, post operatively.
We encountered a patient in whom atrophy of the vocal folds as a result of surgery for pontine hemorrhage led to a weak and high-pitched voice. Type 3 procedure was found to be useful as treatment for this patient.
Key words :thyroplasty, vocal fold atrophy, speaking fundamental frequency