Early Transthyrohyoid Injection Laryngoplasty Under Local Anaesthesia in a Single Tertiary Center of Southeast Asia: Multidimensional Voice Outcomes

OBJECTIVE: To study the effectiveness of early percutaneous transthyrohyoid injection laryngoplasty under local anesthesia in improving voice quality in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP) patients. METHODS: Longitudinal data of 29 UVFP patients who underwent injection laryngoplasty within six months from the onset of the symptoms were studied. The injectate (0.5–1 mL) was hyaluronic acid-based material (Juvéderm ULTRA XC; Allergan Industrie, France) that was delivered under local anesthesia with transthyrohyoid approach using a double-bend 21G needle. Multidimensional voice outcomes employing: 1) Malay-Voice-Handicap Index-10 (mVHI-10); 2) maximum phonation time (MPT); and 3) acoustic analysis [jitter%, shimmer% and noise-harmonic ratio (NHR)] were used to assess the treatment progress. The voice parameters were measured at baseline (2 weeks pre-injection), and at the first and third months post-injection. RESULTS: The mean age of the 29 patients was 44.69 years, with a female-to-male ratio of 3.14:1. The voice outcomes measured at different time points were evaluated with repeated measures ANOVA. Significant improvement was observed from baseline to three months post injection laryngoplasty for mVHI-10, jitter, and NHR (p<0.001), shimmer (p=0.005) and MPT (p=0.018). Following the procedure, none of the patients developed any major complications. CONCLUSION: Office setting early transthyrohyoid injection laryngoplasty using a double-bend needle is a safe and effective procedure in patients with UVFP with evidence of significant improvement in voice and life quality.