Vocal cord paralysis

Hello @hopeful33250 . Before this surgery I had an inyection of hyaluronic acid with success. The doctor told me that this was the next step. It is a surgery with general anestesia. They do a little "lipo" from any part of your body (in my case it was my lower stomach) to remove enough fat (1 Tablespoon is what the Dr told me she needed). Then they implant it through the mouth. I was asked to be 7 days without talking and then start talking 5 mins per hour, next day 10 min per hour and so on. I am very pleased with the results. My voice is not exactly as it was but I can have a conversation which feels wonderful. The next step would be a reconstruction of the vocal chord.
I had it done in Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville by Dr Amy Rutt. Hope this info helps...let me know if you need more info

I really appreciate the information, @patriciagsr. Do you know what is involved in the reconstruction of the vocal chord?

@hopeful33250 No....I will ask in my next appointment which will be in August. I will read and keep you posted 🙂

Hello all:

Mayo Clinic posted a very interesting video on treatments for vocal cord paralysis. I thought you might find it educational as well as helpful. I was treated with both the injection as well as the surgery implanting the silastic material. Please feel free to share any of the treatments you have experienced. Here is the video:

Dear @marydwyer51, I do. Here is a link to my dilemma:
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/cordotomy-versus-tracheotomy/?pg=1#comment-608674

Hi, I have paralysis of my left vocal cord due to a surgical error (3 years ago, during a shoulder repair from an injury sustained at work). My ENT specialist here in NM said that NM does not have the ability to help me with what i need, so he referred me to Mayo. Well, Mayo has rejected me without even reviewing my case, the ENT here is the head of his dept at the teaching hospital at UNM, and says Mayo is the best at what i require. I am a nurse educator and dependent on my voice, which is of course not working properly. I was told that Mayos departments are all autonomous and have the right to select whom they treat. And they only accept previous pts of Mayo??
So my question to this forum is, how do I get an appt?

@deborah33 Hello, I can understand your frustration in not getting an appointment. Can you give me some specifics of how you applied to Mayo, and in what department did you make your inquiry? Do you have health insurance that would be accepted at Mayo? If this was considered part of a work comp injury, that may play into this, but I don't know why or how. Work comp brings with it the possibility of the doctor needing to give up time for depositions in settling a case, and that would affect how many other patients they have time to see.

You can apply again or apply to a different Mayo campus or different department. If you can demonstrate that you are unable to receive the care locally to restore your voice, that could help you be accepted. I was a spine surgery case and I was rejected locally by 5 surgeons before I came to Mayo, and that probably helped me get in. I also have another condition that caused overlapping symptoms, and my case had an unusual presentation of pain distribution from a spine problem that had confused my prior consulting doctors. Some patients apply a second time and get in. It does depend on their case load and some departments are heavily booked with patients. Did your ENT try to refer you?

Mayo does have a surgery to place an implant that will allow a paralyzed vocal cord to meet up with the other which does restore the voice. Not all medical centers have this procedure, but I would seek that out at teaching hospitals that are part of medical schools. You would be closest to the Mayo Phoenix campus. Is that where you applied? There may be more specialists at Rochester, and you could get a different result.

There is also the Mayo Clinic Care Network where doctors at those hospitals consult with Mayo experts for patient care. Here is a page that shows Care Network Hospitals.
https://www.mayoclinic.org/about-mayo-clinic/care-network/network-members
You could apply to different departments and if you were accepted at Mayo for something else, once you are accepted, they will assess all your conditions and refer you to another department. Perhaps the paralyzed vocal cord is the best avenue to try, but you may need some medical documentation of this to be reviewed by doctors at Mayo.

Can you shed some light on your process? What were you told in your denial?

I have paralyzed left vocal cord also. My voice is raspy and escaping air makes for short conversations. I also have to be careful swallowing or I will choke. My local ENT has not helped and I am hoping to get an appoint at Mayo to see if they can help. Ensign60.

Hello @ensign60 and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I appreciate your joining our discussion group and sharing about your paralyzed vocal cord. I understand the raspy voice and the difficulties in swallowing. I have experienced that as well.

As this is your first post, I hope that you will share a bit more about your paralyzed vocal cord (as you are comfortable doing so). How long have you been aware of the problem? Has your ENT doctor referred you to an Otolaryngologist? This is an ENT doctor who specializes in the vocal and swallowing mechanisms.

My treatment has included an injection, followed by surgery and speech therapy on a regular (yearly) basis. Prior to surgery, I was always fatigued from the effort of talking.
Have you had any of these therapies?

If you are interested in an appointment at Mayo Clinic here is a link with information about how to obtain an appointment at anyone of Mayo's three locations, http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

I look forward to having you share your story on Connect. Will you post again?

Thanks for responding so quickly to my posting. I started becoming more aware of my problem after a period of a year of throat irritation and some minor swallowing problems and no improvement. My first ENT said he didn't see any real problem with my throat and gave me a prescription to help the irritation. The next visit I saw his PA and he went down my nose with a scope and said my left vocal cord was vibrating different than my right and they weren't closing tight. At this point my primary care Doctor recommended me to another ENT and he looked down my throat and said my left vocal cord was paralyzed in an open position but my right cord was functioning as it should. At that point he didn't offer a solution but he recommended throat and speech therapy. He further said that this problem could have been caused by acid reflux burning my vocal cord and started me on a drug to help with the reflux. I was not aware of ever having acid reflux if that in fact is possibly the cause. I started speech and throat therapy soon after and all of this took place over 10 to 12 month period. Early on I also had a swallow test that showed my esophagus did not completely close and I was given warning to being careful regarding swallowing. As I mentioned in my first note my ENT was familiar with a couple procedures for treating the paralyzes but didn't leave me with any confidence to consider them here in Naples, FL. Both ENT's I have seen here in Naples have credentials that say they are Otolaryngology Drs. I will be grateful and very pleased to hear back from you. @ensign60 (Paul)