Objective: This study was conducted to present the long-term functional outcomes of injection laryngoplasty (IL) with hyaluronic acid/dextranomer (HA/D) in unilateral vocal fold paralysis (UVFP).
Methods: A total of 40 patients who underwent HA/D injection for UVFP were enrolled. The acoustic analysis of the voice was evaluated with jitter percentage, shimmer percentage, maximum phonation time, harmonics-to-noise ratio, and fundamental frequency. The psychosocial effect of the voice was determined using the Voice Handicap Index-10. Fiberoptic endoscopic evaluation of swallowing was performed and 2 scales were used for quantification: a modified penetration-aspiration scale and a dysphagia score. All measurements were performed at preoperative day and postoperative months 1, 6, and 24.
Results: A statistically significant improvement was observed for all of the evaluated parameters except the maximum phonation time for postoperative months 1, 6, and 24 (P < .05). In the evaluation of the maximum phonation time, although there was a significant improvement for the postoperative months 1 and 6, no significant difference was observed between the postoperative 24th month and the preoperative value.
Conclusions: HA/D injection laryngoplasty is an effective method both in the short- and long-term to improve voice and swallowing functions in patients with UVFP.
Keywords: hyaluronic acid; hyaluronic acid/dextranomer; swallowing; vocal fold paralysis; voice.