Results
A total of 15patients were included. The mean age was 31.7 ± 8.3 years (range 22 to 51 years). The mean time of multidisciplinary monitoring at the service before undergoing chondrolaryngoplasty was 3.6 years (range 2 to 9 years). The mean number of surgeries prior to chondrolaryngoplasty was 1.2.
Laryngostroboscopy examinations were normal in all patients.
The average postoperative follow-up time was 15.3 ± 6.1 months (range 6 to 25 months).
Aesthetic Satisfaction
Fifteen (100%) patients presented a positive variation in the VAS score when comparing the pre- and postoperative appearance of laryngeal prominence. Before surgery, 8 (53%) patients had graded the appearance of the laryngeal prominence as 0, while in the postoperative period, 10 (67%) patients graded it as 10 (Figure 2). The mean value of the preoperative VAS was 0.7 ± 1.0 and postoperative, 9.3 ± 1.1, with a mean improvement of 8.6 ± 1.9, with statistical significance (P <0.001; 95% CI 7.3-9.6).
Voice Analysis
Voice analysis was performed with 11 patients, since 4 patients were excluded due to additional concurrent pitch-raising vocal surgery. In the assessed patients, the mean pre-operative fundamental frequency was 171.3 ± 41.2 Hz and in the post-operative, 177.1 ± 39.5 Hz, with a mean difference of 5.8 ± 10.5 Hz, with no statistical significance (P = 0.74; 95% CI = -30.1 to 41.7; Figure 3). There was no statistically significant difference in the GRBAS scale of the mean value of each of the five categories before and after surgery (Table 1).
Amongst the complications, one patient (7%) presented with a hyperpigmented scar and two (13%) reported hoarseness during the first postoperative week, which was overcome without the need for specific treatment. There were no major complications such as disinsertion of the epiglottis or vocal folds.