going for new treatment of vocal cord paralysis

[Brewers7]

     I had a thyroplasty done a few months after my AN surgery.  Basically, a small prosthetic devise is inserted to move the paralyzed cord toward the midline, which helps the other cord function better.  Only twilight anesthesia was necessary and it was very helpful.  I could only whisper prior to the procedure.  In June they are going to tweek the thyroplasty at Vanderbilt Hospital in Nashville.  Again, minimally invasive surgery.  The doctor said that I will not be a country music singer (dang), but I should be able to talk better.  Great news for a trial lawyer.  Keep you posted.

[CHD63]

WOW!  That is amazing.  So glad we live in the times of rapid medical advances.

I have had vocal issues for the past year.  Lots of huskiness.  Video of vocal cords indicated the cords were not closing completely ...... unknown if related to any AN issues.  After surgery two weeks ago, I had great difficulty talking at first.  It is much better now, but still not normal.  So good to know help is available, if needed.

Clarice

[Kaybo]

Will be thinking about you!!  Hope it helps even more!!

K   

[Tod]

Good luck, Susan! I hope this helps. Even more I hope your VC  recovers some day.

-Tod

[Brewers7]

Thanks all.  Tod, are you l going with the injections?

[Tod]

Susan, no more injections for me. Back in February I noticed my voice was changing (whee! I'm a 12 again!) and canceled the procedure that we had scheduled. So now I tend to start the day with a normal sounding voice and it generally fades by mid-morning depending on how much I talk and the external conditions. if go long periods without talking, it recovers for a bit.

So, while it is recovering, I still have a long ways to go. I had a meeting with the SOE the other night in which I basically talked for almost two hours. I almost passed out leaving the office suite...I'm clearly still using a much greater than normal level of air to speak.

Of course, when I am outside or in a noisy environment, the normalcy tends to go way completely and returns to a loud, hoarse whisper. What I have learned from this experience is that our body automatically adapts, or tries to do so, to the external conditions and it is next to impossible to get control of that reflex. If I try to stay at a normal one-on-one level or just below, I can do well for awhile..volume above that and it all falls apart.

Hang in there...

-Tod

[suz]

I am curious - is your vocal cord paralysis related to your AN?
I had vocal cord paralysis (actuallly just one side) after extensive surgery for throid cancer 6 years ago. For six weeks I sounded like a combination of Michael Jackson (RIP) and Brenda Vaccarro. I could not say the letter "E" if my life depended on it (requires two working vocal cords, apparently). Luckily my kids new their alphabet by then!
I was told by my head&neck surgeon that it was related to a long intubation - that surgery was 9 hours long with lots of manipulation in that area. I was told many times that my voice "should" come back but I remember being very worried. I need my voice for my profession as well. But luckily about six weeks post-op I started to have increasingly long stretches of normal voice. Eventually the normal stayed. Now, I do have a slightly more hoarse voice, and after a long day of teaching/talking I do notice my voice is weaker but I can say the letter "E" whenever I want.  After my AN surgery I did not have any difficulty with my voice, but that was a much shorter surgery & intubation.
I hope time will help in your situation as well.
Suz

[Brewers7]

My vocal cord paralysis is related to my AN surgery and complications.  The doctors don't know exactly what caused it.  I had a 12 hour surgery for an extremely large AN that was imposing on my brain stem.  Thereafter I had CSF leakage and a staff infection (MRSA) of the brain (4 more surgeries).  I had a trach for a while.  I am 2 1/2 years post op, so the paralysis is probably permanent.  Glad yours cleared up, Suz. Tod, great to hear that yours is improving.  I have adapted by speaking in short increments and sipping water (through a straw or coffee stirrer).   Susan

[Tod]

Suz, my case is somewhat similar to Susan's. However, I have to laugh (gently of course) at the idea of 9 hours being a long surgery. Mine was 32 hours and I ended being intubated for 6 days. The tumor was/is deep along the brainstem and heavily involved with various nerves.

-Tod

[suz]

Wow, I am humbled by the length of your surgeries - both Tod and Susan. Did not mean to minimize your experience! I had no idea that surgery could go on for that long - and I am a nurse! (but have never worked in the operating room)
So I suppose my experience is not so helpful to either of you but I do hope that you have improvement.
Suz

[Tod]

No worries, Suz. I am experiencing recovery and am very fortunate. As to length of surgeries, the world record is 96 hours in Chicago during the 1950s.

-Tod

[Mei Mei]

Well, Tod, you're closer to the world record than us 9 hour Forumites.
I have to jump in here about the VC paralysis.  I had a laminectomy back in 1988 and they took the wrong disc, closed up, x rayed and saw the mistake and opened up and took the right disc.  They severed the VC in the process so I had to wait for the 12 month interval and flew from Maryland out to Irvine California where I had an anastomosis of the RLN  recurrent laryngeal nerve (nerve that moves your vocal chord) to the ansa hypoglossi (the nerve that moves your tongue)   It took about 5 years to re innervate and I still can't say dipthongs and e properly as they take more sub glottal pressure.  (I was in speech pathology).  That was in 1989.   I still don't have enough breath to walk up hills with my dog or jog or do anything aerobic.   The ENT said if I do too much aerobic, I might get an enlarged heart.

So I don't know whether to tell you to go out to Roger Crumley at UC Irvine or not.   It won't improve your exercise tolerance but will improve your articulation.   It's a 5 hour surgery and overnight stay.   My local ENT said he went to one of his lectures and wasn't impressed because it doesn't improve the breathing.   I really feel for people with VC paralysis.   It has a bigger impact on our lives than others can imagine.
Hugs to you all,
Mei Mei

[Brewers7]

Thanks for the info Mei Mei.  I am an old runner and I have been able to run ( more of a shuffle) some.  My ENT  gave me a book to read about running. Hmmm.

[Brewers7]

Just an update on the Laryngoplasty.  I am very pleased.  The first 1 1/2 week was scary.  I could barely speak at all.  But now (3 1/2 weeks post op) the swelling is down.  My voice is deeper, louder, and stronger.  Not my old voice, but much improved.  Susan

[Mei Mei]

Congratulations!   You've come a long way.    Where did you do this and with whom?   I'm still having breathing problems after the surgery in 89.   I don't know that I'm up for more surgery.   How long was the surgery?   Mine was 6 hours out at UC Irvine

Mei Mei