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Time course of recovery of idiopathic vocal fold paralysis
Author(s) -
Husain Solomon,
Sadoughi Babak,
Mor Niv,
Levin Ariana M.,
Sulica Lucian
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
the laryngoscope
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.181
H-Index - 148
eISSN - 1531-4995
pISSN - 0023-852X
DOI - 10.1002/lary.26762
Subject(s) - medicine , vocal fold paralysis , paralysis , surgery , laterality , recovery rate , anesthesia , audiology , chemistry , chromatography
Objectives/Hypothesis To clarify the time course of recovery in patients with idiopathic vocal fold paralysis. Study Design Retrospective chart review. Methods Medical records for all patients with idiopathic vocal fold paralysis over a 10‐year period were reviewed to obtain demographic and clinical information, including onset of disease and recovery of vocal function. Stroboscopic exams of patients who recovered voice were reviewed blindly to assess return of vocal fold motion. Results Thirty‐eight of 55 patients (69%) recovered vocal function. Time course of recovery could be assessed in 34 patients who did not undergo injection augmentation. The mean time to recovery was 152.8 ± 109.3 days (left, 179.8 ± 111.3 days; right, 105.3 ± 93.7 days; P = .088). Two‐thirds of patients recovered within 6 months. Probability of recovery declined over time. Five of 22 patients who recovered voice had return of vocal fold motion; 17 did not. The mean time to recovery did not differ between these groups (return of motion, 127.4 ± 132.3 days; no return of motion, 160.1 ± 105.1 days; P = .290). Conclusions Sixty‐nine percent of patients with idiopathic vocal fold paralysis recovered vocal function, two‐thirds doing so within 6 months of onset. Age, gender, laterality, use of injection augmentation did not influence recovery rate. Declining probability of recovery over time leads us to consider framework surgery after 6 months in patients with idiopathic paralysis. Level of Evidence 4. Laryngoscope , 128:148–152, 2018