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Surgical Management of Vocal Fold Scars

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Textbook of Surgery of Larynx and Trachea

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Abstract

Vocal fold scarring is a pathological entity characterized by reduced pliability of the vocal fold and, occasionally, an incomplete glottic closure during phonation. Various causes of vocal fold scarring are described: vocal fold atrophy, congenital or acquired sulcus vocalis, iatrogenic or postsurgical scarring, direct trauma, or as a result of radiation or chronic irritation on reflux disease. In the interest of simplification, it has been proposed different classifications for this larynx disease. Indeed, functional consequences and therapeutic options will be different according to the type of scarring, and it is therefore crucial to understand the vocal fold healing process, the etiopathogenesis of vocal fold scarring, and its biomechanical consequences. A variety of treatment options have been developed in the last decades, but the current therapeutic possibilities are reduced because of the high complexity of the vocal fold microstructure. In any case, the first step in choosing a therapeutic option is the assessment of the patient’s glottic and vocal situation: the treatment should be then orientated towards the main clinical feature, either glottic gap or rigidity. Because of the unpredictability of a surgical intervention’s results, it is recommended to start always with the less traumatizing procedure.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology and Head and Neck Surgery, APHM, La Conception University Hospital, Marseille, France

    Antoine Giovanni & Alexia Mattei

  2. Aix Marseille Univ, CNRS, LPL, Aix-en-Provence, France

    Antoine Giovanni & Alexia Mattei

Authors
  1. Antoine Giovanni
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  2. Alexia Mattei
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Correspondence to Alexia Mattei .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL), Luxembourg, Luxembourg

    Marc Remacle

  2. Department of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, A.ö. Landeskrankenhaus Klagenfurt, HNO, Klagenfurt, Austria

    Hans Edmund Eckel

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Giovanni, A., Mattei, A. (2022). Surgical Management of Vocal Fold Scars. In: Remacle, M., Eckel, H.E. (eds) Textbook of Surgery of Larynx and Trachea. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09621-1_8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-09621-1_8

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-031-09620-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-031-09621-1

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