Vocal fold cyst

Vocal cord cyst should be excised with all its walls!

Use a chance get the consultation and treatment from leading ENT specialist of the Royal College of Surgeons of England (FRCS) Professor Roberto Puxeddu

Our Doctors:

Roberto Puxeddu

ENT surgeon, Professor, Chairman, Division of Otorhinolaryngology, Department of Surgery, University of Cagliary (Italy). More than 7,000 operations for head and neck diseases have been performed in clinics in Italy and England since 1991. Areas of specialization: neck surgeries, larynx surgery, sinonasal surgeries, intraoral, nasal pharynx and oral pharynx surgeries.

Natalia Chuchueva

Assistant of Roberto Puxeddu in Russia MD, Assistant of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, ENT doctor in Medical Rehabilitation Center "Barviha" Administration of the President of the Russian Federation. She interned in the clinic of Roberto Puxeddu during the whole year.

As a rule, vocal fold cysts belong to those disorders that respond exclusively to phonosurgical treatment. A distinctive feature of the cyst is the presence of epithelial walls, which should be completely isolated and excised.

High-risk group

Women who overuse their voice, often for professional purposes. Such factors as smoking, air pollution, impairment of breathing, GERD increase the risk of cyst formation.

Symptoms

Hoarseness is the main symptom. If the cyst is big in size, there is a feeling that something is stuck in a throat.

Diagnosis and treatment

Diagnosis

Successful treatment requires a thorough differential diagnosis with such laryngeal lesions as vocal cord nodules and pseudocysts. This diagnosis is needed since the approach to excise cysts is different. They should be removed completely with the walls, otherwise a cyst recurs. This surgery is called microsurgery and requires precise work of the surgeon. For this very reason the postoperative period is of high importance. It should include fibrolaryngoscopy, stroboscopy of the larynx, as well as intraoperative diagnosis, which most surgeons do not even think about.

Treatment

The method of choice is surgical excision using a CO2 laser. The entire operation should be performed with a minimal impact on the surrounding tissues of the cyst to prevent scarification. The ideal approach is to use the microflap technique with a careful dissection and excision of all the walls of the cyst.

Cyst excision and postoperative result

Cyst excision of the left vocal cord.

Postoperative result, full voice recovery.

Stages of vocal cord excision

To sum up

Vocal cord cyst can’t be treated conservatively, but it can be successfully excised surgically. Preoperative examination is the key to differential diagnosis with nodules and pseudocysts, which requires a completely different therapeutic approach. Vocal cord cyst should be excised with all its walls, otherwise a cyst recurrence can develop. The surgery is performed under general anesthesia transorally, using a microscope and a CO2 laser.