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.