Vocal Fold Polyps: Literature Review

Abstract

Introduction Vocal fold polyps are one of the most frequent benign laryngeal lesions, impacting the quality of life of those affected by them, primarily the vocal production. Despite being a well-established therapy in conjunction with surgery, speech therapy alone may also be effective in treating these lesions. As such, otolaryngologists and speech therapists need updated bibliographic knowledge on the issue. Objective To describe the literature findings on vocal fold polyps that discuss prevalence, etiology, histology, physiopathology, vocal characteristics or treatment. Data Synthesis The present study is a review article based on a bibliographic search using platforms, databases and search engines, with no restrictions on means of publication, methodological quality or language. All the articles on vocal fold polyps pertaining to the object of study published in the past 15 years were included. Among the characteristics investigated, the most discussed were prevalence of men, smoking as an etiological cofactor, the possibility of histological differentiation from vocal nodules, the relationship with cover minor structural alterations, and the indication and effectiveness of different treatment options. Conclusion Despite the discrepancies found in the present literature review on vocal fold polyps, there has been a notable scientific progress in the otolaryngologic techniques and in the effectiveness of speech therapy as initial treatment, with direct and indirect techniques, corroborating the need for scientific investigation of the issue.

Incidence and Outcome of Vocal Cord Polyp: An Endoscopic Experience and Perception

“…Due to the discrete study group there was a divergent result in which Vasconcelos D. et al showed incidence in smoker and GERD group was 1.0-1.7%. 21 Goswami S. et al series displayed 16.86% vocal cord polyp in total laryngeal disorder patient. 22 But Woo et al series revealed that vocal cord polyp were the second most prevalent laryngeal lesion.…”

Laryngeal polyp associated with reflux disease: a case report

“…Vocal cord polyps and nodules are among the most common prevalent laryngeal lesions (1.0-1.7%), with a slight female and pediatric predominance [9]. They are typically caused by vocal overuse, whereas other irritants may contribute to the development of polyps, such as GERD, smoking, and aspiration of chemical substances [9]. Differentiation between vocal cord nodules and polyps can be done on the basis of both laryngoscopic and pathological parameters [10].…”

“…GERD has been implicated in the pathogenesis of vocal cord nodules and polyps, possibly due to adductory collision of the vocal cord by the effect of reflux, which results in local trauma, inflammation, and irritation [12]. Moreover, higher presence of pepsin was reported in patients with vocal cord polyps than in a control group [9]. Other laryngeal complications of GERD include paradoxical vocal fold motion, laryngospasm, laryngeal granuloma, stenosis, strictures, ulcers, chronic laryngitis, and laryngeal carcinoma [6,[13][14][15][16].…”

“…On the one hand, acknowledging such a spectrum of changes in a laryngeal polyp could aid in the diagnosis of associated GERD. On the other hand, smoking-associated vocal cord polyps are characterized by significant epithelial hyperplasia, leukoplakia, thickened basement membrane, hyaline degeneration, and lamina propria edema [9,11].…”

Objective Evaluation Regarding Efficacy of Endolaryngeal Microsurgery

“…3 Vokal kord polipleri erkeklerde kadınlara göre daha sık görülmekte olup; çoğunlukla tek taraflı, nadiren de bilateraldir. 4 Vokal kord poliplerinin tedavisinde en sık kullanılan yöntem mikrolaringeal flep ile subepitelyal polipoid dokunun eksizyonu olup, gerek objektif gerek subjektif olarak ses bozukluğunun düzelmesinde en yüksek başarı oranına sahip tedavi şeklidir. 5 Cerrahi eksizyon genel anestezi altında soğuk enstrümanlarla veya CO 2 , Pulse dye lazerler ile yapılabileceği gibi son yıllarda KTP ve benzeri lazerler eşliğinde ofis prosedürü olarak da uygulanmakta ve teknikten bağımsız olarak yüksek başarı sonuçları bildirilmektedir.…”