Thyroid Cartilage Implantation for Unilateral Vocal Fold Paralysis: Voice Assessment and Surgical Outcomes

Objectives: Medialization laryngoplasty is a standard surgical treatment for unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP). This study presents the surgical outcome of thyroid cartilage implantation (TCI), an external medialization laryngoplasty, using thyroid cartilage as the implant. Methods: This retrospective clinical series study aimed to analyze the surgical outcomes and safety of laryngoplasty with TCI for UVFP. Seventeen patients with UVFP who underwent laryngoplasty with TCI were examined preoperatively and at 1, 3, and 6 months postoperatively by video laryngostroboscopy. Their voice was evaluated by subjective evaluation and acoustic analysis. Results: After surgery, 16 of the 17 (94.1%) patients reported their subjective and objective improvements in voice quality after a follow‐up period of at least 6 months. Glottal incompetence and vocal performance were markedly improved after this surgery. There was a significant decrease in voice grading (from 2.47 to 1.29, subjective improvement) (P =. 002), and the maximum phonation time was significantly longer after surgery (from 3.63 to 7.80 seconds, objective improvement) (P =. 001). Conclusions: Laryngoplasty with TCI represents a simple, safe, and effective surgical treatment for UVFP. The advantages include voice improvement, low cost and minimal invasiveness.