Mucosal blood volume and oxygen saturation in the human vocal fold

With a newly developed spectrophotometric analyzer we were able to measure hemoglobin (Hb) concentration and its oxygen saturation in the human vocal and ventricular folds. Studies were made on 30 subjects including 18 normal controls. In laryngomicrosurgery under general anesthesia, measurements were made with a fiber probe touching the laryngeal mucosa. Results were as follows: In normal mucosa of the vocal fold, the mean value of IHb was 40 and the ISO2 was 55, while in that of the ventricular fold, the mean values were 74 and 56, respectively. Thus, in spite of the influence of general anesthesia, the mucosal blood volume was lower in the vocal fold than in the ventricular fold. The mean value of IHb was 30 in the vocal fold polyps, 122 in the vocal fold nodule, 43 in the polypoid degenerations, 17 in the vocal fold cyst, 62 in the granuloma, 6 in the sulcus vocalis and 19 in the hyperkeratoses. This method is considered useful for objective and quantitative analysis of pathological conditions in the vocal fold.