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  • Dr. Wohlt
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  • Voice Disorders
    • Voice Disorders – General Information
    • Vocal Cord Paralysis
    • Vocal Cord Nodules
    • Vocal Cord Polyps
    • Reinke’s Edema
    • Vocal Cord Cyst
    • Laryngeal Papillomatosis
    • Vocal Cord Granuloma – Contact Granuloma
    • Vocal Cord Leukoplakia | Laryngeal Cancer
    • Aging Voice - Vocal Cord Atrophy
    • Functional Dysphonia
    • Psychogenic Dysphonia
  • Voice Surgery
    • Voice Surgery - General Information
    • Vocal Cord Paralysis Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Nodules Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Polyp Surgery
    • Reinke's Edema Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Cyst Surgery
    • Laryngeal Papillomatosis Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Leukoplakia Surgery
    • Vocal Fold Augmentation After Cancer Surgery
    • Anti-Aging Voice Surgery
  • Voice Therapy
    • Voice Therapy - Speaking Voice
    • Voice Therapy - Singing Voice
    • Vocal Rehabilitation After Vocal Cord Surgery
  • Singers' Page
    • Vocal Arts Medicine
    • Voice Surgery for Professional Singers
    • Vocal Rehabilitation for Professional Singers
    • Vocal Cord Surgery for Singers
telefon

Berlin Center
+49 30 315 076 55

Mail

Mail
info@wohlt.com

telefon

Vienna Center
+43 1 513 05 27

whatsapp

WhatsApp
+49 160 948 703 37

GER

Deutsch
Español
Italiano
中国
русский
العربية

telefon
Mail
EN

Deutsch
Español
Italiano
中国
русский
العربية

  • Dr. Wohlt
    • Curriculum Vitae
    • Press & Media
    • Philosophy
  • Organization
    • Appointments
    • Berlin Center
    • Vienna Center
    • Invoicing for Services
    • International Patients
  • Voice Disorders
    • Voice Disorders – General Information
    • Vocal Cord Paralysis
    • Vocal Cord Nodules
    • Vocal Cord Polyps
    • Reinke’s Edema
    • Vocal Cord Cyst
    • Laryngeal Papillomatosis
    • Vocal Cord Granuloma – Contact Granuloma
    • Vocal Cord Leukoplakia | Laryngeal Cancer
    • Aging Voice – Vocal Cord Atrophy
    • Functional Dysphonia
    • Psychogenic Dysphonia
  • Voice Surgery
    • Voice Surgery – General Information
    • Vocal Cord Paralysis Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Nodules Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Polyp Surgery
    • Reinke’s Edema Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Cyst Surgery
    • Laryngeal Papillomatosis Surgery
    • Vocal Cord Leukoplakia Surgery
    • Vocal Fold Augmentation After Cancer Surgery
    • Anti-Aging Voice Surgery
  • Voice Therapy
    • Voice Therapy – Speaking Voice
    • Voice Therapy – Singing Voice
    • Vocal Rehabilitation After Vocal Cord Surgery
  • Singers’ Page
    • Vocal Arts Medicine
    • Voice Surgery for Professional Singers
    • Vocal Rehabilitation for Professional Singers
    • Vocal Cord Surgery for Singers

Vocal Cord Surgery – Voice Surgery

Vocal Cord Surgery – Voice Surgery

Vocal cord surgery, also referred to as vocal surgery or voice surgery, is usually necessary whenever tissue lesions (such as vocal cord nodules) or movement disorders of the vocal folds (vocal cord paralysis) lead to protracted periods of hoarseness.

As one of the most renowned voice surgeons in Europe, Dr. Wohlt is specialized in voice improvement operations, particularly on professional voice users and voice professionals. Alongside his extensive track record in “voice reconstruction” for patients with vocal cord nodules, vocal cord cysts, vocal cord polyps and Reinke's edema, his other area of clinical focus is on the surgical treatment of paralyzed vocal cords (unilateral vocal cord paralysis).

Over a period of more than 15 years, Dr. Wohlt has developed his own special method of voice surgery and then modified the technique to be particularly gentle on the voices of professional speakers and singers. It constitutes a surgical technique of plastic reconstruction that concerns itself with the viscoelastic properties of the delicate mucosal layers of the vocal cords and causes the most minimal of trauma to healthy vocal fold tissue.

This method of voice surgery is Dr. Wohlt's signature method which he has performed on hundreds of patients. Judging by the years of regular follow-up examinations, he knows that this surgical technique produces excellent long-term vocal outcomes.

Methods of Vocal Cord Surgery

Vocal cord surgery for diseases of the superficial vocal cords (epithelium)

  • Nodules on the vocal cords
    (Vocal cord nodules, edematous, fibrotic vocal cords)
  • Polyps of the vocal cords (vocal cord polyps)
  • Papillomas on the vocal cord (vocal papillomas, laryngeal papillomatosis)

Vocal cord surgery for diseases of Reinke’s space (lamina propria)

  • Abnormal swelling along the entire vocal fold
    (vocal fold edema, Reinke's edema)
  • Vocal cord cysts, cysts inside the vocal fold body

Vocal cord surgery for movement disorders of the vocal cords (vocal cord paralysis)

The paralyzed vocal cord (unilateral vocal cord paralysis) is augmented with autologous fat tissue injected into the paralyzed vocal cord.

Vocal cord surgery for glottic insufficiency (e.g. after cancer surgery or as anti-aging surgery)

  • Tissue loss after surgery for vocal cord tumors: injected fat can replace the tissues removed during cancer surgery
  • Anti-aging treatment of the aging voice: Fat augmentation can replace lost tissue to treat atrophy of the vocal cord muscles

Gentle Vocal Cord Surgery – Only Performed Under General Anesthesia

Dr. Wohlt performs vocal cord surgery exclusively on patients under general anesthesia. The safest and most effective way for the surgeon to calmly undertake the delicate microsurgical intervention is on the anesthetized patient. This prevents any serious injuries to the vocal folds that might be caused by a patient's spontaneous, uncontrolled movements during the procedure.

Anesthesiological monitoring of the patients by a chief anesthesiologist is ensured throughout the entire surgery.

Caution: No Vocal Cord Surgery on the Conscious Patient

Dr. Wohlt categorically rejects the method of indirect vocal cord surgery, especially for treating voice professionals.

The indirect method involves the conscious patient sitting in the examination chair across from the surgeon who employs a long, bent instrument (grasping forceps) that is advanced through the oral cavity down to the patient’s larynx. Not rarely, this undertaking triggers strong gagging reactions that cause the patient to make erratic defensive movements.

Here, the surgeon can only operate with one hand because he is holding an optical instrument in the other. Essentially, single-handed surgery merely consists of a blunt plucking or, even worse, a tearing off of the tissue lesions on the vocal fold surface. Since it can never be predicted with certainty how the mucous membrane boundary along the vocal fold margin will tear, this method may excise much larger portions of healthy tissues than desired or intended.

The result may invariably be irreversible vocal damage.

Proponents of the single-handed, conscious-patient method will argue that it allows stroboscopic verification at all times to determine how much tissue has been removed. As true as that may sound, it still glosses over the fact that any vocal fold tissue — once lost — cannot be reinstated, no matter how frequently the stroboscope is inserted. The outcome is often permanent injury to the voice.

The egregious disadvantages associated with indirect microlaryngoscopy are why Dr. Wohlt performs all phonosurgical interventions exclusively under general anesthesia.

Gentle Vocal Cord Surgery Using Only the Finest Stainless Steel Microinstruments

For vocal cord surgery, Dr. Wohlt exclusively uses ultrafine microinstruments hand fabricated of stainless steel in France. These precision instruments in the hands of a skilled voice surgeon are the optimal choice for performing delicate, gentle surgery on the free margins of the vocal folds.

Caution: No Vocal Cord Surgery Using Lasers

In this context, Dr. Wohlt also warns against vocal fold operations using lasers. In contrast to the conventionally used microinstruments made of stainless steel (cold instruments), the laser emits thermal energy. If the laser is designed to work like a "hot knife”, the heat generated can seriously impair the mucosal layers and leave burn injuries.

Furthermore, the effects of the laser can activate certain cells resident in the deeper mucosal layers.

These cells are called fibroblasts and, when activated, produce fibrotic, i.e. hardened areas of tissue. The consequence can be irreversible, scarring lesions to the vocal fold mucosa. Since scarred tissue is not capable of vibratory motion, such laser treatment sometimes ends in serious voice disorders.

The significant risks associated with laser surgery are the reason that Dr. Wohlt performs all voice surgeries with ultrafine microinstruments made of stainless steel.

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Dr. Wohlt
Voice Disorders
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Data Protection Policy & Legal Notices Berlin
Data Protection Policy & Legal Notices Vienna

Germany

Gerrit Wohlt, M.D.
Board-certified Laryngologist
Board-certified Phoniatrician

Fasanenstraße 70
10719 Berlin

Phone +49 30 315 076 55
Mail info@wohlt.de

Austria

Gerrit Wohlt, M.D.
Board-certified Laryngologist
Board-certified Phoniatrician (Voice and Speech Medicine)

Fichtegasse 2A
1010 Wien

Phone +43 1 513 05 27
Mail info@wohlt.at

Deutsch

© Dr. med Gerrit Wohlt 2023

The medical content of this website is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or used in place of consulting a qualified medical professional. Specific details may not apply to the individual case and under no circumstances should treatment decisions be based thereupon. Great care was taken in compiling the most accurate information for this website. Notwithstanding these efforts, medicine is a dynamic and living science undergoing constant flux. All warranties, express or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or quality of the details provided are therefore disclaimed. The user of this website is hereby made aware of these limitations.

Kontakt

GERMANY
Gerrit Wohlt, M.D.
Board-certified Laryngologist
Board-certified Phoniatrician

Fasanenstraße 70
10719 Berlin

Phone +49 30 315 076 55
Mail info@wohlt.de

AUSTRIA
Gerrit Wohlt, M.D.
Board-certified Laryngologist
Board-certified Phoniatrician (Voice and Speech Medicine)

Fichtegasse 2A
1010 Wien

Phone +43 1 513 05 27
Mail info@wohlt.at

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The medical content of this website is intended for educational purposes only and should not be construed as medical advice or used in place of consulting a qualified medical professional. Specific details may not apply to the individual case and under no circumstances should treatment decisions be based thereupon. Great care was taken in compiling the most accurate information for this website. Notwithstanding these efforts, medicine is a dynamic and living science undergoing constant flux. All warranties, express or implied, with respect to the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or quality of the details provided are therefore disclaimed. The user of this website is hereby made aware of these limitations.

© Dr. med Gerrit Wohlt 2023