The Artificial Larynx

Image from Protip Medical We have had artificial lungs, artificial hearts, artificial kidneys... but now we also have an artificial larynx. Published in the New England Journal of Medicine in Jan 2017, French researchers described a patient who required the entire voicebox removed (laryngectomy) due to cancer and than implanted with a totally artificial larynx in 2015. This patient is actually the second patient who has undergone artificial laryngeal implantation. The first occurred in 2…

1/09/2017 0

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Argentine President Undergoes Vocal Cord Surgery

Image by Casa Rosada in Wikipedia On Dec 20, 2016, media reported that the Argentine President Mauricio Macri underwent a 10 minute office procedure to extract a polyp from the vocal cord. He reportedly went immediately back to work after the procedure. The details are sparse and it is unclear exactly what was done to extract the vocal cord polyp . However, there are only a two ways a vocal cord polyp can be extracted in the office without sedation (that I know of). 1) Trans-nasa…

12/21/2016 0

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Donny Osmond Undergoes Vocal Cord Surgery

On August 11, 2015, Donny Osmond underwent vocal cord surgery to remove a hemorrhagic polyp.  The year 2015 is turning out to be a doozy for injured vocal cords with 4 other celebrity singers being sidelined for vocal cord injuries. • Miranda Lambert - July 2015 •  Meghan Trainor  - July 2015 •  Chad Kroeger  - June 2015 •  Sam Smith  - April 2015 •  Nathan Sykes  - April 2013 •  Nicki Manaj  - August 2012 •  Florence Welch  - July 2012 •  Maxwell  - June 2012 •  Keith Urban  - Nov…

8/24/2015 0

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Transgender Voice Change

For individuals undergoing transgender sex reassignment transformation, perhaps the most difficult outward change to accomplish is the voice which ideally should sound like the gender that has been selected. If you look like a woman, you should sound like a woman (and vice versa). Watch a video of Caitlyn Jenner (formerly Bruce Jenner) at the end of this article. So what can be done to try and make the voice sound more consistent with the gender? Overall, it is easier to make a woman so…

8/02/2015 0

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What Does the Uvula Do?

Given how frequently doctors look in peoples' mouths, physicians probably get asked this question a dozen times a day by curious patients.  This question of uvular function also extended into ancient times with a variety of theories proposed over the years... Hippocrates and Aristotle in the 4th century B.C. and Berenargio da Carpri in 1900 referred to the uvula only as a source of possible inflammation and edema capable of causing suffocation. Galen (122-199 A.D.) considered it to be…

5/31/2015 0

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The Longer Hoarseness Lasts, the More Expensive it Becomes to Treat

It is generally accepted that if a voice is hoarse for over 2 weeks, an ENT evaluation is recommended.  The main concern is whether there is something more serious going on that would require specialist treatment whether it be unusual medications or even surgery. Researchers have also found out that patients who see an ENT after 3 weeks of hoarseness also pay substantially more money than if they had seen an ENT earlier. The longer patients wait, the more expensive it becomes to correct t…

4/22/2015 0

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