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Understanding Risk and Recovery in Vocal Fold Paralysis

  • LARYNGOLOGY: Management of Vocal Cord Paralysis (D Chhetri and JL Long, Section Editors)
  • Published:
Current Otorhinolaryngology Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

To summarize and critically review recent literature on spontaneous recovery from unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP), with emphasis on the time to vocal recovery and its implications for the physiology of recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) injury and repair.

Recent Findings

Analyses of the time to spontaneous vocal recovery in UVFP have generated probabilities of recovery that can be used to counsel patients within the first 12 months of the onset of UVFP, replacing the traditional recommendation of waiting 12 months prior to pursuing permanent intervention. In addition, mathematical modeling of the recovery times has yielded insights into the physiology of RLN reinnervation following injury.

Summary

Most patients with UVFP who experience vocal recovery do so within 6–9 months. The recovery pattern differs between idiopathic UVFP and iatrogenic UVFP. For iatrogenic UVFP, the severity of RLN injury dictates the time to recovery and the eventual probability of recovery, not the distance between the injury site and the larynx.

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References

Papers of particular interest, published recently, have been highlighted as: • Of importance •• Of major importance

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Clinical Center for Voice Care, Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, 2001 Inwood Rd, Dallas, TX, USA

    Ted Mau

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  1. Ted Mau
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Correspondence to Ted Mau.

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The author declares no competing interests.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

The studies relevant to this review that were performed by the author have been approved by the UT Southwestern Institution Review Board and have been performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

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Mau, T. Understanding Risk and Recovery in Vocal Fold Paralysis. Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep 9, 95–100 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40136-021-00333-x

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