We’ve all heard about the vocal problems of famous celebrities (Julie Andrews) and rock stars, never thinking we could lose our voice. But we can, even if we’re not singing night after night to a sold-out stadium.
Loyola’s new minimally invasive pulsed-laser procedure is a high-tech alternative to traditional surgery for vocal cord disorders. Typically these disorders required delicate surgery through the mouth with cold instruments or lasers that could damage vocal fold tissue. This surgery has the risk of scarring the vocal cords, which can alter the sound of the voice.
Now people who must use their voices in their work—traders, teachers, deejays, singers, etc.—can benefit from new surgical techniques designed to make surgery easier, thanks to Loyola’s new minimally invasive voice-saving laser procedure. This laser is designed to treat the superficial blood vessels of vocal cord disorders while minimizing the risk of scar tissue in the voice box.
Loyola’s Dr. Lee Akst is one of the first physicians in the United States to be trained in the use of the pulsed potassium-titanylphosphate (KTP) laser to treat:
- vascular malformations – broken blood vessels in vocal cords, a condition caused by continuous singing or speaking
- dysplasia (an early form of cancer)
- papilloma (a benign tumor that often recurs)
- other disorders of tissues surrounding the vocal cords
The KTP laser procedure provides faster recovery, quicker rehabilitation and easier outpatient follow-up care. This type of laser was originally used to treat pigmented skin lesions in children without causing scars.
Akst, assistant professor, department of otolaryngology – head and neck surgery, Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, Maywood, Ill., trained with Massachusetts General Hospital’s Dr. Steven M. Zeitels, who has repaired the voices of politicians, rock and opera singers, and other celebrities.
Akst has special expertise in treating all types of voice disorders, swallowing disorders, vocal cord paralysis, hoarseness and cancer of the larynx. In addition, Akst can examine the esophagus in an office-based setting without sedation, using transnasal, through-the-nose, esophagoscopy. For more information, call 1-888-LUHS-888 and ask for extension 68563.
