Hoarseness/Voice Change (recurrent laryngeal nerve injury) These are the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve. Damage to a recurrent laryngeal nerve can cause you to lose your voice or become hoarse.
Voice change is a common problem that patients encounter after thyroid surgery.
Your voice probably will be hoarse, and you may have trouble talking. For most people, these problems get better within 3 to 4 months, but it can take as long as a year. In some cases, this surgery causes permanent problems with chewing, speaking, or swallowing.
Will my voice ever return to normal? As mentioned above, if there is no nerve injury or if the injury is minimal, it's expected that voice changes will settle within three to six months. If one nerve is transected (i.e. cut), there is no possibility of a complete return to normal voice.
Objective: Hoarseness is a postoperative complication of thyroidectomy, mostly due to damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN).
Interventions—ranging from early speech therapy to injections of paralysed vocal folds to more extensive procedures for vocal fold paralysis—can allow patients to function better and more quickly after their procedure.
Most people fully recover their voice within a few days of the surgery, but others may have trouble speaking for weeks or longer.
Hypocalcemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury are the two most common post-thyroidectomy complications. 4. Hypocalcemia is managed by the administration of calcium plus vitamin D. 5.
Voice changes may occur even in the cases of mild thyroid failure since thyroid hormone receptors have been found in the larynx, which proves that the thyroid hormone acts on the laryngeal tissue [6]. Hypothyroidism can cause notable voice changes, such as low voice, roughness, reduced range, and vocal fatigue [7].
One of the risks of general anesthesia is damage to the vocal cords by direct trauma. Although rare, it does occur, and it manifests itself in just the way this patient presents: hoarseness after surgery that does not improve after one week.
Follow your doctor's orders and listen to your body. It is normal to fatigue more easily after a surgical procedure. Walking is a low impact exercise to keep you active and speed up recovery, while gentle neck exercises and stretches can help to prevent neck stiffness or soreness.
The majority of the studies indicate a net increase in weight following total thyroidectomy, with the greater gain occurring within the first 2 years following surgery.
In most cases, laryngitis gets better within a week without treatment. See your GP if your symptoms are severe or haven't improved after two weeks.
Damage to the nerves of the larynx can cause hoarseness, difficulty in swallowing or breathing, or the loss of voice. Treatment depends on the cause and extent of the laryngeal nerve damage. Damage to the laryngeal nerve can result in loss of voice or obstruction to breathing.
There are two sets of nerves near the thyroid gland that help control the vocal cords. These are the recurrent laryngeal nerve and the external branch of the superior laryngeal nerve. Damage to a recurrent laryngeal nerve can cause you to lose your voice or become hoarse.
A Hoarse Voice Is One Of Many Thyroid Symptoms
Low thyroid hormone levels cause fluid to accumulate in the vocal folds, and when the thyroid gland enlarges due to disease, the vocal chords can become pinched or partially paralyzed due to their snug proximity.
The thyroid gland is a two-lobed gland that wraps around your voicebox (or larynx). The thyroid cartilage makes up the front part of your larynx, protecting your vocal cords from damage. It also forms the “Adam's apple” that tends to be more prominent in males.
However, serious post-thyroidectomy complications do occur, and they include recurrent laryngeal nerve injury, permanent hypoparathyroidism, postoperative bleeding, and hypocalcemia [7-8].
Most people are ready to return home within one day of surgery, but take off about two weeks from work to recover. You'll need to refrain from heavy lifting or other tasks that can strain your neck for up to three weeks after your surgery.
Complications are much less common and can include neck bleeding, permanent hypoparathyroidism that requires ongoing calcium replacement, and damage to nerves that can lead to long-term hoarseness and vocal changes.
This could be due to stretching of the nerves which supply the vocal cords during surgery, or as a result of post-operative swelling or bruising. You may find that eating food is more difficult due to this swelling or feel a 'lump' sensation in the throat. In the majority of cases, this does improve and recovers fully.
Rarely, after neck surgery, both vocal nerves can be damaged. This results in inability to move both vocal cords. If the cords are stuck in the midline position, there may be significant difficulty breathing, as with the patient in this video.
The vocal cords may take 6-8 weeks to heal fully after laser surgery, so over this time you should treat your voice with care.