Care of the Voice: Injuries

These images are taken from the University of Pittsburgh Voice Centre, with permission. They can be of help when someone says "you've got nodes", or some such horrific statement. Injuries to the voice need not be permanent (though some are, especially after long periods of abuse), and surgery isn't always the best recourse. Scarring of the vocal fold tissue as a result of surgery can be worse than the condition it was meant to treat. However, modern laser techniques have improved this somewhat, though the intense heat of the proceedures can be a problem.

Vocal Fold Hemorage:
haemorrage of the vocal fold a broken blood vessel in the mucosal layer, floods the tissue with bright red blood.

Nodules:
vocal fold nodules like a callous. The arrows point to the "nodes".

Polyps:
a vocal fold polyp like a blister, I have circled the polyp with red to make it stand out more.

Cyst:
a cyst of the vocal fold abnormal surface tissue growth

Granuloma:
a contact granuloma post-traumatic, a one sided tissue growth.

Reinke's edema:
reinkes edema of vocal fold smoke induced swelling with excess fluid in the "baggy" mucosal layer

Paralysis:
paralysis of vocal folds nerve damage (usually), freezes the vocal fold making the opposite fold do all the work.

Reflux:
gastric reflux on vocal folds gastric juices irritate folds and surrounding tissues. Notice the bright red colour, swollen tissues and in this instance, the nodules.

On to Premenstrual Vocal Syndrome...
Back to The Journey of the Voice

More on Care of the Voice

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