What is micro-laryngeal surgery?

Micro-laryngeal surgery refers to microscopic surgery of the vocal folds or other parts of the voice box.

How is micro-laryngeal surgery going to help me?

There are a number of situations in which micro-laryngeal surgery may be helpful or necessary. These include:

• When a lesion such as a vocal fold polyp is causing hoarseness and requires removal. Such lesions can interfere with normal vibration of the vocal folds or even prevent the vocal folds closing during voicing. Non-surgical treatment is usually tried first as it may improve the voice sufficiently or even make the lesion resolve. The likelihood of this can often be assessed from the appearance of the lesion. In addition to improving voice, surgery may be needed to confirm the diagnosis, if this is in doubt.
• Removal of a lesion that is increasing in size, or has recurred after previous surgery, such as a respiratory papilloma or a contact granuloma.
• Biopsy of a lesion suspicious for malignancy or of uncertain behavior. Biopsy refers to removal of the whole lesion (excisional biopsy) where possible, or part of the lesion to confirm the diagnosis. Not all lesions need biopsy, and the probability of malignancy is assessed during diagnostic laryngoscopy in the clinic, often with the help of video-stroboscopy.
• Complete removal of a lesion confirmed to be an early cancer. Voice preserving surgical techniques are used wherever possible.
• For a more specialized procedure, for example when there is narrowing in the voice box resulting in breathing difficulty. Examples are paralysis of both vocal folds (bilateral vocal fold paralysis), webbing or scarring between the vocal folds, and stenosis or narrowing for other reasons.