A public specialist clinic in Hong Kong has said patients with hoarse voices can benefit from laser surgery, with doctors there urging anyone suffering from symptoms for more than three weeks to seek medical help.
Teacher Ma King-chi, who suffered from issues with her voice for eight years, opted for the treatment in 2018 after initially hesitating to undergo the traditional procedure, which included an endoscope examination and using small scissors to remove her vocal cord polyp.
“The traditional way involves cutting. I felt scared about it and was worried about a relapse in the future,” Ma said at a media interview on Wednesday to mark World Voice Day, which will take place on Sunday.
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“After the laser surgery and taking a rest for one to two weeks, my vocal cord has recovered totally and the problem hasn’t reoccurred ... my voice sounds even better than before.”
Dr Iris Leung Oi-sum, who is also the associate consultant at the ear, nose and throat departments at three hospitals in East Kowloon, said Ma’s case was successful because laser surgery eased patients’ concerns and performed better than traditional endoscope surgery.
“We have noticed that some patients’ vocal cords have scars after the traditional surgery. These affect the vocal cord vibration and their voices are not as clear as before,” Leung said.
“Laser surgery can target the designated part. In case of relapse, they can redo the surgery and need not worry about leaving scars.”
Leung said traditional surgery required general anaesthesia which posed health risks, while the laser treatment required partial anaesthetisation, providing an alternative for patients.
Before the surgery, Ma, a teacher in a special needs school, lost confidence because she could hardly talk for eight years and struggled to give instructions to her students with autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
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She had to talk non-stop for six 35-minute classes daily and often spoke loudly to catch her students’ attention, which damaged her voice.
“I was very frustrated. As a teacher, being unable to speak is an obstruction. It also affected my social life as I just wanted to hide and keep quiet,” the 42-year-old said. “I sometimes had to take one to two weeks’ sick leave as I couldn’t speak a word.”
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She added that she has been doing regular check-ups after surgery, while she has followed the speech therapist’s suggestion to protect her own voice, such as avoiding spicy food, drinking more warm water and practising stretching to relax neck muscles.
Ma was one of the patients at the voice clinic in the three hospitals in East Kowloon, which handles 12 to 15 patient cases a month under referral from ear, nose and throat clinics.
Leung also urged patients suffering from vocal cord problems for over three weeks to seek medical help, adding that it could be a sign of cancer and required detailed check-ups to assess the situation.
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