The role of voice rest after micro-laryngeal surgery for benign vocal fold lesions.

Purpose: To compare post-operative vocal outcomes of a voice rest regimen versus no voice restrictions following micro-laryngeal surgery for benign glottic lesions.

Methods: This was a combined prospective and retrospective cohort study on 167 patients who underwent micro-laryngeal surgery for benign focal fold lesion removal. Participants were divided into two regimens: standard voice rest (n = 92) or no voice restriction (n = 75).

Predicting glottal closure insufficiency using fundamental frequency contour analysis.

Background: Voice analysis has a limited role in a day-to-day voice clinic. We developed objective measurements of vocal folds (VF) glottal closure insufficiency (GCI) during phonation.

Methods: We examined 18 subjects with no history of voice impairment and 20 patients with unilateral VF paralysis before and after injection medialization laryngoplasty.

Validation of a swallowing disturbance questionnaire for detecting dysphagia in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Underreporting of swallowing disturbances by Parkinson's disease (PD) patients may lead to delay in diagnosis and treatment, alerting the physician to an existing dysphagia only after the first episode of aspiration pneumonia. We developed and validated a swallowing disturbance questionnaire (SDQ) for PD patients and compared its findings to an objective assessment. Fifty-seven PD patients (mean age 69 +/- 10 years) participated in this study.