Lipoinjection for unilateral vocal cord paralysis

Abstract

Injection of Teflon paste is a commonly accepted procedure to improve the caliber of voice in unilateral vocal cord paralysis. There are several drawbacks to Teflon injection, among them respiratory obstruction (from overinjected Teflon) and unsatisfactory voice quality (Teflon causes stiffness of the vocal folds). This paper is a preliminary report on lipoinjection instead of Teflon injection into a paralyzed vocal fold. Fat appears to impart a soft bulkiness to the injected cord, while allowing it to retain its vibratory qualities. It is autologous material and can be retrieved if excessively overinjected. The fate of autologous fat injected into a paralyzed vocal cord remains unknown. Most of the literature on lipoinjection concerns repairs of depressed scars or breast augmentation. Our longest follow-up has been 12 months. Three patients have had this procedure, and the results appear to be very encouraging.