Hoarseness and benign lesions of vocal cords (fibrous nodules, polyps, cysts)

Article written by Master, Doctor Nguyen Vinh Toan - Ear - Nose - Throat Doctor - Interdisciplinary Department - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital

The common benign lesions of the vocal cords are fibrous granules, polyps, and cysts. This situation often occurs after the process of using the wrong voice, overusing the voice. Understanding will help you to have timely treatment.

On endoscopic or microscopic images it looks like a calloused nodule at the free margin, midpoint of the vocal cords, often bilateral. It is more common in women between the ages of 20 and 50, but both men and women have it. The main cause is the misuse of the accent or the wrong pronunciation repeated for a long time

Usually appear only on one side, larger in size than fibrous granules, more blood vessels, dark purple in color, have many different shapes, vocal polyps are also caused by using the wrong voice such as after screaming, neck dance a sport, presenters, coaches

Vocal cord cyst will have a shell, inside containing mucus. This lesion is less common than fibroids and polyps and is not usually associated with vocal processes, vocal abuse.

According to the assessment, the following main causes are considered to be the main causes of vocal cord injury such as:
The leading cause is due to using the wrong voice, abusing the voice for a long time like professions: Singer, teacher, broadcaster, salesman, evangelist, coach. This disease is also common in other groups of people such as: Smokers, alcoholics, sinusitis, allergies, hypothyroidism.

When the patient shows hoarseness, fatigue, shortness of breath, neck pain, they should go to an otolaryngologist for an endoscopic examination to evaluate details, check for damage, vibration of the vocal cords, and shape. of the vocal cords, history of voice use.
Through the examination process, the doctor will evaluate, thereby giving advice and the best treatment direction for each patient's health condition. Specifically, for early stage fibroids often conservative treatment, under the guidance of a linguist to correct the voice, change the habit of using voice.
In the late stages, surgery is often required. Polyps and vocal cord cysts require surgery and are less responsive to speech therapy
Besides, treatment of comorbidities such as gastroesophageal reflux syndrome, laryngopharyngeal, allergies, sinusitis reduces disease severity and prevent recurrence. Patients need to quit smoking, avoid stress, and preserve their voice are factors that help improve voice quality.

Performed under general anesthesia, microsurgery instruments will be inserted into the larynx through the mouth and pharynx, a small incision is made away from the vibrating border of the vocal cords, then a small flap will be lifted and damaged. The wound will be removed, this technique will reduce the risk of scarring and create the best voice quality

Under general anesthesia, the surgeon will insert a laser into the lesion and remove it.

Usually there are minor complications such as possible damage to the teeth due to pressure instruments, damage to the tongue and throat causing bleeding and pain after surgery
In some cases, there may be scarring of the vocal cords after surgery, creating a substance voice quality is not good. Sticky vocal cords, two vocal cords stuck together after surgery is the worst situation because it causes poor sound quality and can cause breathing difficulties.
These are considered possible complications during vocal cord surgery. Therefore, to minimize risks, patients should actively seek out good medical addresses so that the implementation can take place in the most secure way.

In order to limit damage to the vocal cords, patients need to pay attention to a few important things:
Avoid using your voice excessively, such as talking a lot, talking loudly without the necessary rest When speaking in a prolonged voice, Adults can use extra speakers to support Drinking lots of water Treat related diseases such as reflux syndrome, allergies, sinusitis. Do not smoke, avoid a smoke-filled environment Warm up your voice before using it for a long time When you have a respiratory infection, limit singing or use your voice excessively Avoid stress, join yoga courses, sports clubs It can be seen that vocal cord damage is the main cause of voice changes and many obstacles in life. Therefore, when the typical signs of the disease appear or you are in a high-risk group, it is extremely important to proactively and periodically check your health.
To be able to fully protect the health of you and your family, you can use the general health checkup package of Vinmec International General Hospital. With this package, customers will be checked, detected and consulted if there are abnormal health problems. Currently, the examination process at the hospital is carried out by a team of qualified doctors with many years of experience combined with modern equipment. Therefore, customers can be assured of the quality of examination at Vinmec.