Objectives: The present study was carried out to assess the impact of fascial injection on voice acoustics Preliminary results had suggested that voice, as rated by a panel of listeners, was significantly improved after autologous fascia augmentation of a paralyzed vocal fold.
Study design: A prospective study among patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis was carried out. Eighteen subjects were analyzed 9 months (mean) after the procedure.
Methods: The preoperative and postoperative samples of vowel /a/ were analyzed by Key Elemetrics (Lincoln Park, NJ). Computerized Speech Lab.
Results: There was a significant improvement (P<.05) in all parameters measured, including jitter, shimmer, noise-to-harmonic ratio, and maximum phonation time. No laryngeal complications were seen.
Conclusions: According to these preliminary results, vocal fold augmentation by an injection of autologous fascia seems a simple, inexpensive, reliable and safe method to restore voice quality after unilateral vocal fold paralysis.