[Common benign lesions of the vocal fold : diagnostic criteria and management]

The vocal cord or vocal fold is a remarkable structure, capable to support significant physical constraints. When the voice malmenage becomes chronic, it may appear an organic alteration causing nodules, polyps or Reinke edema even a lesion of the posterior glottis, the granuloma. These lesions are benign but lead to dysphonia that can be invalidating. Treatment can be a speech therapy with correction of breath and posture and, in some cases, a surgical treatment. In this article, we describe these common lesions with their histological characteristics and pathophysiological hypotheses which lead to their appearance and treatment.