Voice and unilateral vocal fold paralysis
Reviewed by Badr El Mostafa

Voice outcomes are the main comparators when managing unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVP). In a review of the literature, 11 voice indicators are included in 80% of all articles. However, when surgeons were surveyed on their clinical preferences and their vocal outcome targets, the results were different. This was a web-based survey of 50 experienced laryngeal surgeons generated by a working group of the European Laryngological Society. The results revealed that the most frequently used indices were the Voice Handicap Index (VHI-30), Maximal phonation time (MPT) and GRBAS-1 in decreasing order. However, there was no consensus on the target postoperative improvement of any of these indices. The salient point here is the Jitter and Shimmer, which are mostly reported in the literature and statistically significant, are not the prime choices of evaluation of surgeons. This might indicate that most of the reports are generated by specialist voice experts and phoniatricians but this is not reflected in the daily surgical practice. We might need to develop simpler, more clinically oriented but powerful tools to evaluate our surgical voice modifying procedures.

Indicateurs des resultats vocaux après chirurgie de paralysie glottique unilatérale : une enquête parmi les chirurgiens.
Desuter G, Dedry M, Schaar B, et al.
ANN FRANC D’OTO-RHINO LARYNGOL PATH CEVIC-FAC
2019;136:337-41.