Vocal Outcomes Following Pitch Alteration Surgeries

Our study aims to ascertain the results of speech therapy and surgery in patients who desire pitch alteration. Typically, patients desirous of an increase in their vocal pitch are male-to-female transpersons, and patients desirous of a drop in their pitch are puberphonia patients. This is a 3-year retrospective study of patients who have been operated for pitch alteration. This is a study of seven patients each of Wendlers glottoplasty (WG) and relaxation laryngeal framework surgery (RLFS). The records were reviewed for the preoperative and the 1-year post-operative fundamental frequency (FO), patient subjective satisfaction score (PSSS), and healing time. A total of 7/35 patients of puberphonia underwent RLFS in which the average preoperative F0 was 216 Hz and 1-year post-operative F0 was 114 Hz (p 0.004). The average pre- and post-operative PSSS was 4 and 9 (p 0.0004). Patients of WG had an average preoperative F0 of 153 Hz and 1-year post-operative F0 of 223 Hz (p 0.0005). The average pre and 1-year postoperative PSSS was 4 and 8 (p 0.002). The average healing time was 3 weeks 4 days in the RLFS patients and 8 weeks 5 days for WG patients. The results of RFLS yielded a high PSSS with a pitch drop of more than 100 Hz. The results of WG yielded an increase in the pitch of 70 Hz with a good PSSS. The average healing time taken following WG was double the time taken for RFLS.