Correlation Between Morphology of Reinke's Edema and Disease Regression After Office-Based Laser Therapy and Steroid...

To investigate the association between the morphology and the severity of Reinke's edema (RE) and disease regression following office-based blue laser therapy (OBLT) and steroid injection.

Retrospective Review METHODS: The medical records and video recordings of patients diagnosed with RE who underwent OBLT between November 2023 and October 2025 were reviewed. The lesions were stratified based on morphology as polypoid and nonpolypoid, and based on the disease severity (types 1 to 3). The primary outcome measure was disease regression following OBLT (no change, partial, or complete).

Fifteen females and 6 males were included in this study. The mean age was 56.24 ± 8.30 years. Thirty-five lesions were included in the study. Fifteen lesions were polypoid, and 20 lesions were not polypoid. Eighteen lesions were type 1, 6 lesions were type 2, and 11 lesions were type 3. There was no statistically significant difference in complete or partial disease regression between patients with polypoid and nonpolypoid lesions (p=0.804 and p=0.629, respectively). There was also no significant difference in complete or partial disease regression between patients with type 1 versus those with type 2 or 3 RE (p=0.060, p=0.238, respectively). However, there was a mild to moderate negative correlation between disease severity and disease regression (r=-0.353; p=0.037). Patients with type 1 Reinke's edema had a greater improvement in VHI-10 score post-operatively compared to patients with type 2 or 3 RE, however, the difference was not statistically significant (-11.44 ± 7.13 vs. -8.00 ± 13.09; p=0.504).

Unlike the morphology of RE, the study suggests that disease severity is a significant factor that impacted disease regression following office-based blue laser therapy.