Voice outcomes after endoscopic injection laryngoplasty with hyaluronic acid stabilized gel.

OBJECTIVE

A variety of materials as well as approaches have been used to treat glottic insufficiency, but the ideal procedure has yet to be determined. The goal of this study was evaluate the safety and efficacy of cross-linked hyaluronic acid (Restylane) for office-based injection laryngoplasty for the treatment of vocal fold (VF) immobility.

STUDY

DESIGN

Retrospective chart review.

METHODS

Twenty-seven patients were with diagnosed VF immobility. Twenty-five received Restylane VF injections in the office setting via percutaneous, trans-thyrohyoid injection with distal chip endoscopic guidance. Two patients received injections using suspension microlaryngoscopy under general anesthesia. Voice outcomes were followed using the Voice-Related Quality of Life Survey and the Voice Outcome Survey.

RESULTS

Four patients were lost to follow-up immediately after injection. 20 of 23 patients (87%) reported subjective improvement in voice. Analysis of subjective surveys from nine patients revealed a trend toward improvement of V-RQOL from 34 to 23 (P = 0.083) but did not reach significance. After compilation of all VOS questions, 69% of all follow-up responses noted improvement of symptoms, 24% were unchanged and 7% were worse.

CONCLUSIONS

Office-based injection laryngoplasty with Restylane appears to be a safe procedure that improves vocal function in patients with glottal insufficiency due to impaired VF mobility. Further studies are required to quantify the benefits and to compare the effects with other injectable materials.