[Hoarseness: biomechanisms and quantitative laryngoscopy]

Abstract

Every phonosurgical procedure alters endolaryngeal anatomy; be it by removing tissue, or injection or implantation of autologous or foreign material. However, the effect that an altered airflow cross section and changed soft tissue elasticity will have on the voice cannot be predicted. With the aim of promoting rational indications for phonosurgery, the current article explains the biomechanisms of the normal and the disordered voice, including the complex interdependence of tissue viscoelasticity, glottal airstream and sound production. According to European Laryngological Society (ELS) recommendations, five - not entirely mutually independent - evaluation criteria form the basis of indication assessments: self-rating (by the patient), proxy rating (by the physician), technical signal analysis (computerized), aerodynamics (spirometry) and vibration analysis (stroboscopy). The ELS evaluation standards agreed upon in 2001 enable indications and - by virtue of pre- and postoperative comparisons - therapeutic successes to be assessed. The 10-year-old ELS protocol has been updated by a real-time method for visualizing vocal fold vibrations: the phonovibrogram (PVG) has replaced stroboscopy. Independently of the morphological anatomic details of the larynx, PVG visualizes the symmetry and regularity of vocal fold motion, thus allowing preoperative estimation of tissue elasticity.