[Surgical treatment of androphonia]

Abstract

While numerous surgical procedures which aim at modifying the mass and tension of the vocal cords have been successfully adopted in dealing with androphonia, the most suitable and the least traumatic appears to be cricothyroid approximation. The Authors report the method employed and the satisfactory results obtained in the case of a woman whose highly masculine voice had brought about relational and psychological disorders. Studies of the instrumental phoniatric data gathered prior to surgery as well as a week, three months and a year afterwards show a change in the frequency characteristics of the voice-that is, a significant increase in the fundamental frequency. No substantial changes in aerodynamic indices or vocal range were detected.