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Thyroplasty Implant?


Wendy

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Has anyone had a Thyroplasty implant to repair nerve damage and vocal cord paralysis caused from lung surgery?

If you have any experience with this I would love to hear from you. I am scheduled to have it done in a few weeks.

I did place a question in the Ask the Expert section to see if they have any input on it.

Thanks!

Wendy

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hi wendy.

mini george here.i have had a thyroplasty implant done after an pneumonectmy for lung cancer.the one i had implanted is called a type I montgomery silicone type..the procedure took about thirty minutes or so.they freeze your neck muscles then make a small inscision,{you feel no pain 8) } next they put a small collapseable box in where your vocal cords are.next they install the new silicone cord tip, or they may use teflon it can also be used.they adjust the tone of your voice.all done pain free.you may spend a few days in hospital, to make sure there are no complications. my new voice has been done almost a year ago and i haven't had any problems since.the only problem i have,which is really no problem, is that my voice goes up or down depending on the weather.it's really great to be able to speak clearly when you lose your voice and then get it back. well good luck and if you have any more questions just post them and i or someone else on the board will try and answer them.

mini george

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Thanks Mini George for the information. Sounds like I will be having the same procedure - I will be getting the teflon version though. I am really excited about it! :lol:

I have been able to compensate for the paralysis on the one side by pushing more air through and working the right side harder, but if I am tired or talk alot it gets pretty week and really wears me out. It also really depends on the day whether it will be weak or not. My bigger problem has been swallowing and choking - this has been a real treat for the last 10 months. I had a temporary injection of collagen but it didn't stay for more than a couple of months.

Good to hear that your experience was positive and that it was pretty painless!!! Doesn't sound like it is a real common procedure but sounds like they have pretty good results.

Again, thanks for the info - It definetly gives me piece of mind to hear of someone else that has "been there".

All my best,

Wendy

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hi wendy

mini george again.i hadn't told you that i also had a whisper voice

and like you said it made me very "talk tired".i was also wondering if you still have pain from your pneumonectomy.i still have a great deal of pain.

i had asked onco doc and he said that is very hard to treat. it's called

post thoractomy pain syndrome.i take a lot of pain killers to keep it at bay.i will be going to a pain specialist to see what they can do.hopefully

you don't have it.

keep on getting those n e d tests :D .see you later.

mini george

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I still have pain from the surgery, but have been able to finally get off the pain meds and keep it at bay. The overall pain has just finally quieted down in the last month so I would say about 10 months after surgery. Not a fun ride that is for sure. For quite a while I was convinced that the surgery was screwed up and that something was wrong that they needed to fix - sure wish that it had been that easy. I belong to a local support group and several of the members continue to complain about the after effect pain.

Sorry to hear that it is still giving you trouble, nothing worse than feeling lousy all of the time! Hopefully they can find something to nip it in the budd for your soon.

One last question for you on the thryoplasty, how sore was your throat after the surgery? My doc said I would be back on my feet in about 24 hours after they keep me over night, but he really didn't elaborate on any pain after that - I was too excited that it was finally scheduled to ask.

Thanks again for your insight and cheers to continued NED to you also! We all have alot more living to do......

Wendy

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hi again wendy

i'm glad that you are getting that implant.i remember being very anxious

about it also.the first day there was a little pain at the site and they gave me some meds .the next day it was more of a discomfort then pain

because they put a small tube to keep the site clear.i could also talk

really good on the same day as the surgery.i think it was a week when they took out the tube and the stitches.after that there were no problems

with it.hopefully yours will go as smooth. 8) let me how things go o.k. see you later.

mini george

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To either Wendy or Mini George, I had a paralisis of a vocal cord, last Feb. from a mediastinoscopy. I later recovered my voice within 3 months or so. But this December, I was sick with a throat infection, running like crazy during the holidays, etc, You know not taking good care of myself, and it started, alot of hoarsness. Well here I am some 5 weeks out and my voice is bad, weak faint sometimes, was hurting a bit. Went to the ENT last Monday, and they were to do the endoscope thing. Both sinusus were so infected, could not do. now that I have spent a week on anibotics ( third round) My voice is a little better, not good later in day, Best in Am, projection off, weak sound late in day. Anyway . did your voices have any improvement, or was the tone always the same , I am worried, obviously, I would hope this is not permanent, hopefully my voice returns, Got any ideas.. Good luck, Wendy on your surgery

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What kind of doctor do you go too for that? An ENT?

Joels voice is harsher and very low. He used to be very LOUD. Sometimes when he talks I have to go up to him to hear what he is saying.

He had a lobectomy of the left lobe. But the operation was very extensive 7 hours, as it was on top of his aorta, and took a long time to cut it off.

Just wondering if something was done to the vocal cord. He actually sounds worse now then he did when he first came home.

regards

Maryanne

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Maryann, Yes an ENT would be the best Dr. to evaluate, if of course your husband is up to the visit, There actually may be a period of time after lobectomoy before, this would be appropiate. However, I had a mediastinoscopy, which invovled the lymph nodes on the aorta pulmonary side, same as your husbands. I was told there is a nerve that runs closely by this area that is the largygneal nerve that operates the vocal cords. So, when compromised or irritated during surgery would effect voice, like it did mine. It went on like that several months before I had it evaulated, now I have a diffrent situation. But it eventually got back to my normal voice, I just had to wait it out. I would first try the surgeon for answers, and if iit continues, have it checked out with the ENT. Best of luck...

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Lilgna,

My understanding is that the nerves were damaged around the vocal cord during surgery. With some people the nerve will regenerate itself and eventually repair the paralyzed cord - which sounds like what happened to you when it came back after a few months. I would think that it would be permanently "better" and that your recent troubles would be only temporary - however can't say for sure.

Mine never repaired itself and we monitored it for almost a year in hopes that I wouldn't have to do the more permanent surgery. IN addition to the weak voice (which by the way comes and goes depending on the day and how tired I am), I have tons of problems with choking on liquids and am unable to cough because my throat won't fully close. I have been able to compensate for the paralysis on the one side by pushing more air through my throat but when I am tired my voice virtually disappears.

Maryann, it would be that something happened to your husbands throat, especially since he had lymph node involvement. They took 22 nodes on me, which is where the damage occurred. An ear, nose and throat doc would be able to look into it further. To diagnose is a simple scope they insert through your nose and takes about 3 minutes. Hopefully it comes back for him - I know it can be frustrating!

Wendy

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Wendy. Thanks for the info, I am actually going back again on Wed. to have it followed up, I hope that it is temporary. As we all do, I worry about every little thing. Not counting, as you know, how frustrating and iritating it is when you are silenced,( sort of. haha. ) Best of luck, on your surgery, sounds promising......Let us know how it works out...

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  • 14 years later...

Has anyone who has done thyroidplasty had a side effect of fatigue? I am going on week three post surgery and I feel run down and exhausted all the time. Nothing I do makes it any better. I was not like this prior to surgery

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