VOCAL CORD PROBLEMS

[loggie]

HAD THYROID SURGERY 2-18-08 TO REMOVE RIGHT SIDE,HAVE HAD CHRONIC HOARSENESS SINCE SURGERY.ENT TOLD ME LAST WEEK THE RIGHT VOCAL CORD IS NOT MOVING,HE SAID THE NERVE HAD NOT BEEN  CUT.ONLY TIME WILL TELL IF IT WILL START WORKING.ALSO HAVE ALOT OF SCAR TISSUE AROUND INCISION.ENT TOLD ME TO MESSAGE IT ALOT TO HELP BREAK IT UP.I NEED FEEDBACK FROM ANYONE WITH THESE PROBLEMS,THANKS

[898_1]

Looks like a doctor slashed upper and lower branch of recurrent laryngeal nerves on the left side.
The treatmentmethods are neurotrophy and glucocorticoids, and the voice and vocal cord movement can return to normal 1-3 months after surgery.

[kandyvalentine]

I had my left thyroid removed on 3/23/15, I am always short of breath and swallowing is very hard.  my left vocal cord is not moving and my Dr said he had to cut through some vocal nerves.  He is not telling me much I just want to know if my voice will come back and the pain will stop.  breathing is very hard and I cant say too much without getting winded.  can anyone help my understand what im looking at.    just want to know

[bbusbin1859]

i have been diagnosed with thyroid nodules possibly 4  i have food get stuck in my throat.... hamburger, sausage, rice  etc.... is this common with thyroid nodules

[choirgirl]

I did suffer with a lot of hoarseness prior to surgery.  Each week I taught I'd start the week okay, but be pretty vocally tired by Friday.  I'd rest my voice over the weekend, then start the routine again.  If I needed to sing, I'd baby my voice through the week of teaching.  Since my surgery recovery, I haven't noticed as much hoarseness.  I did have a rather large goiter prior to surgery and it felt like a vise around my neck at times.  Without the goiter, I feel much freer and my hoarseness has decreased significantly.

[MANmom]

Thanks for all the comments, I, too, am a classically trained singer, and am having a lobectomy next Tuesday.  I have been very worried about returning to my choir and my teaching.  Did you have any hoarseness prior to the surgery?  I have been having problems with hoarseness after singing for some time, it has progressed into being hoarse after only singing for 15 minutes.  Funny thing is that I can still produce good sound while singing, but can't speak!  I have three fairly large nodules in my right thyroid and one in the left.  The doctor is not sure, but I think the nodules are affecting my laryngeal nerves. I am hoping that removal of the three on the right will take away the hoarseness (and tell me if it is cancer or not).  I do have some issues with esophogeal reflux, which we are also treating, but I don't think that is the cause of the hoarseness.  I have seen a speech pathologist, and we have determined which excersizes will be helpful, so I hope my prognosis is like yours!  I want to return to full range...I am a high soprano, and I don't want to be a tenor!

[choirgirl]

Hang in there all of you who are struggling with your voices.  I teach classical voice and am trained in opera myself.  I had the TT Dec 2007 and lost my voice.  I was really a baby with it and didn't try to sing for quite a while.  I had most of my voice recovered by about 6 - 7 months.  Now, just a couple of months beyond a year, I am in fully restored vocal health.  There are some things you can do to promote good vocal health.  One is to find a good speech therapist, two is to try to speak in a normal tone of voice, not yelling or whispering (both are bad on vocal chords), and three is watch your diet.  Any heartburn is burning the vocal chords too, so be careful :)  We want more singers out there!

[nissah46]

I also lost my voice after surgery. My vocal cord was paralyzed, although not damaged during surgery.  I lost it for 6 weeks and when it came back it was not gradual but almost overnight.

[MKlacza]

Hi- I just had surgery one week from day and I have had no issues with my voice at all. I was told it could happen though and it really depends on when the voice will start working again. I heard a few hours to months....

[898]

This problem is common when the connective tissue forms between the scar and the voice box. Sometimes it may take as long as 4-6 monts to fully restore the voice.
I guess the old book about thyroid surgery was too optimistic telling that the connective tissue breaks away after 20 days since the forming of the scar.

[dscoochie]

I havent had these issues - yet - as my surgery is on Monday, but I was told that it is very common to have hoarseness after surgery.  And you were told that your vocal cord is not moving, so that explains why.  Hopefully the shock to the vocal cord will pass and your voice will return.  I think I was told it may take a few days to a few months for my voice to return if there is vocal cord damage / shock.

Regarding the scar tissue, this is a link that my naturopath sent me regarding massaging the scar tissue (if I have any) after surgery:

http://www.strive4impact.com/massage_files/Articles/massage_scar_tissue.html

I hope you feel better soon!