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Feminization Laryngoplasty: Surgical Therapy

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Management of Gender Dysphoria

Abstract

Phonosurgery performed on transsexuals has the purpose of raising the voice pitch (f0) and is performed on male subjects who carried out their transformation into the female sex. Since the feminizing hormone therapy has little or no effect on increasing the f0 and since not all MtF patients get satisfactory results with the setting (natural or educated by a speech pathologist) of a phonatory vibration in the falsetto register, phonosurgery is required as the voice pitch is not sufficiently high and generally does not suit the new status of transgender sex, limiting significantly the communicative potential.

An increase in the mean fundamental frequency of glottal vibration (f0) can be achieved by three different surgical procedures:

  1. 1.

    Mass reduction of the vocal folds

  2. 2.

    Tension increase of the vocal folds

  3. 3.

    Shortening the length of the vibrating portion of the vocal folds

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Correspondence to Andrea Luigi Cavalot or Diego Cossu .

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Cavalot, A.L., Cossu, D. (2015). Feminization Laryngoplasty: Surgical Therapy. In: Trombetta, C., Liguori, G., Bertolotto, M. (eds) Management of Gender Dysphoria. Springer, Milano. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5696-1_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-88-470-5696-1_15

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Milano

  • Print ISBN: 978-88-470-5695-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-88-470-5696-1

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