Hi I'm new! I have had a paralysed left vocal cord for 4.5 months following surgery to remove my whole thryoid and surrounding lymph nodes (I have thyroid cancer). I've had every side-effect going associated with thyroidectomy and have even made up some of my own (hypoparathyroidism, vocal cord palsy, breathing difficulties, swallowing difficulties, inability to cough, drink going down the wrong way, taking air down when I eat/drink, collapsed soft palette).
It's looking increasingly likely that the nerve is not going to recover, especially as I am only 22 and usually a very quick healer. I've also been told that my paralysed cord is stuck too far away from my working cord for speech therapy to help me or for the goretex/teflon injections to work. My medical team want to wait another 4-5 months and then to perform medialisation surgery (inserting a wedge behind my frozen cord to bring it closer to the midline and the working cord).
Has anybody out there had this implant surgery? How did it go and were there any side-effects? I am very worried about the possibility of my breathing getting worse but don't have a voice that I can have a career with. I feel like I'm going to have to choose between breathing and speaking. Any experiences gratefully received!
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Topic: Speech therapy and surgery to treat a paralysed vocal fold (Read 259 times)