Vocal polyp

@kaytie

Sometimes polyps go away on their own….not always. Why do they want to do surgery? I am assuming a scope was done. Has it affected your voice? Has treatment been suggested such as speech therapy? Is the polyp benign?

Six years ago I regurgitated under anesthesia for a routine colonoscopy. Finally west to my ENT practice and was sent for a scope and told to limit my talking. I was very hoarse . Two ENTs recommended different solutions…one was surgery to remove some benign polyps…also had some visible irritation of the cords. My regular ENT who had returned from vacation disagreed and sent me for 12 weeks worth of speech therapy which helped me enormously. It did take me close to a year to completely heal the vocal cords and regain full speech…(I would get hoarse with prolonged talking).

So I am suggesting a second opinion only from my personal experience. Make sure you have all the reasons for the surgery decision and then go seek another opinion. Also, if your speech is being affected, try to limit your talking if you can.

FL Mary

Hello @kaytie. Has your doctor diagnosed what has caused the polyp? Is it known to be benign? My educated guess is that if the inciting cause is removed that perhaps there could be some shrinkage. Like stop smoking if a smoker or medication for acid reflux if that is an issue. Do polyps ever become malignant over time? A good question for your doctor. If there is a risk like with colon polyps then perhaps surgery is a god idea, despite the side effects and risk of complications.