What is Voice Change Surgery?
The medical term for voice change surgery is Laryngoplasty, a term that refers to procedures that are designed to transform the voice box (larynx) as a way to change or improve the voice.
In case of Feminization Laryngoplasty where the goal is to raise the comfortable speaking pitch, the male voice box is made smaller and the vocal cords shorter.
To give you an idea of the results of voice change surgery you can view “before and after” videos below. You can view more voice change surgery videos and listen to audios here.
At Yanhee International Hospital, voice change surgery is performed to help transsexual and transgendered people or anyone have the voice that they feel would fit their gender, whether they identify as male, female, or somewhere in between.
Before Laryngoplasty
During consultation, your surgeon will take your medical history and perform a visual physical examination of your vocal cords using a procedure called Laryngoscopy.
Crico-thyroid Approximation (CTA)
The most commonly performed operation to raise the voice is CTA. Please refer to the figure below.
Cricothyroid Approximation in Voice Change Surgery
Crico-thyroid approximation is a procedure that will act like the function of one pair of your vocal muscles, the cricothyroids.
This pair of muscles belongs to the main groups of muscles that raise your pitch. They are the group that raises your voice up into falsetto. If they are relaxed your pitch is lower.
You can view testimonials of voice change surgery here.
Risks of Surgery
Just like any surgical procedure, there are always risks involved. Risks of voice change surgery include:
Infection are possible
Bleeding is possible
Reaction to anesthesia
Sub-optimal result consisting of a weak voice is possible
Recovery
Your voice will usually be quite tight or effortful after the surgery and will possibly become worse for a few days to a week then swelling starts to subside.
Discomfort will last for a few days and include difficulty with swallowing and a feeling like you’ve got a sore throat.
Post-operative Instructions
Complete voice rest is very helpful for one week after the surgery. All kinds of verbal conversation must be avoided for one week, including whispering.
Just remember, there are very few sutures in there and until your body’s own scar tissue helps support the procedure, the sutures could pull out.
Non-active work can be resumed in a few days. Speaking may begin increasingly after a week. You may resume aerobic activity after two weeks. Weight lifting should be deferred for a month.
Learn more about voice change surgery at Dr. Ornouma’s website.