A Novel Technique for Thyroplasty Type 1, With Prolene Mesh Implant

Area of Science:

• Otolaryngology
• Vocal Cord Surgery
• Biomaterials in Medicine

Background:

• Vocal cord dysfunction significantly impacts quality of life.
• Traditional thyroplasty methods have varying outcomes and costs.
• Exploring novel, cost-effective implants for vocal cord medialization is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of a modified thyroplasty type one using a prolene mesh implant.
• To assess objective and subjective voice improvements following the procedure.

Main Methods:

• An interventional study involving medialization thyroplasty with prolene mesh.
• 39 patients with vocal dysfunction underwent the procedure.
• Objective (phonation time, word count) and subjective (visual analog score) voice parameters were analyzed pre- and post-operatively.

Main Results:

• Significant improvements were observed in mean visual analog score (2.87), maximum phonation time (approx. 5 seconds increase), and maximum word count (11.33 to 18.28).
• The procedure was well-tolerated with no major complications reported.
• Both unilateral and bilateral vocal dysfunctions showed positive outcomes.

Conclusions:

• Prolene mesh is an effective and safe implant material for vocal cord medialization.
• It presents a readily available and cost-effective alternative to other implant materials.
• The modified thyroplasty approach with prolene mesh yields comparable results to existing methods.