(For full text, see issue 390)

Written by Liti

More than 90% of voice abnormalities can be corrected through fine adjustment or tuning. Technology to improve the problems of insufficient vocal cord tension and glottis insufficiency. Having a good voice is not a dream!

The vocal cavity, which relies on speaking and singing, is prone to narrowing of the vocal range and fatigue of the vocal cords due to congenital soft tissue hypertrophy and narrow space in the oropharyngeal cavity, or soft tissue sagging caused by aging. Abnormal voice may be caused by conditions such as mucosal edema and inflammation. Su Zhiying, former director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Kaohsiung Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, said that if there is still no improvement through medication and speech therapy, regardless of congenital or acquired voice abnormalities, tailor-made "voice beauty" surgery or voice surgery techniques can be effective. Correction.

Generally speaking, the side effects of voice beauty or vocal cord surgery are very small. For surgery, if proper care is taken, the postoperative inflammation rate is less than 1%, and the voice improvement rate can be Reaching more than 80%. Therefore, if you find that your voice is abnormal, you can seek consultation and treatment from a professional doctor.

6 common types of voice cosmetic surgery

●Voice cosmetic surgery expands the vocal range and makes the singing voice richer and louder

Some well-known artists have beautiful singing voices, but when At a certain age, I found that my voice was stuck, my vocal range was narrowing, and it was no longer easy to hit the high notes. Su Zhiying pointed out that this is a phenomenon of vocal cord degeneration, aging and elasticity fatigue.

The reasons that affect a singer's career are not just the growth of calluses or polyps on the vocal cords, but many are related to the obstruction of the vocal rays. Su Zhiying observed their oropharyngeal cavities and found that most of them had enlarged tonsils, thick tongue base and saggy soft palate, and some even suffered from snoring and sleep apnea.

These soft tissues of the oropharyngeal cavity obstruct the vocal rays, which in turn affects the singing voice and the vocal range becomes narrower and narrower. If you forcefully sing, the vocal cords will be easily damaged due to overuse. Su Zhiying pointed out that these problems can be solved through oropharyngeal cavity expansion surgery (voice cosmetic surgery) to appropriately reduce, reshape and lift the hypertrophic and saggy soft tissues. After the surgery, the vocal cavity can be effectively developed and the singing voice can be improved. It will naturally become richer and louder, and the range of the sound will also become wider (the treble part can be about one whole tone higher), and the fatigue of the vocal cords will also be significantly improved.

●Partial curettage of tonsils combined with palatoplasty to restore high-pitched singing

The operation needs to be completed under local anesthesia and painlessly through the mouth in about 50 minutes. The first is to perform partial (about 2∕3) tonsil curettage with monopolar or bipolar electrocautery, which can improve the problem of partial sound ray obstruction without affecting the body's immune system. Moreover, the wound caused by partial curettage is small and easy to heal. The procedure is quick, the amount of bleeding is small, and the postoperative pain is mild; then a palatal palateplasty (lifting surgery) is performed to moderately trim and trim the saggy soft palate and excessively long bulge (small tongue). Lifting surgery can effectively expand the space in the upper pharyngeal cavity, allowing the sound rays to be smoothly introduced into the nasal cavity and head cavity to produce sufficient vocalizations.

To what extent can I recover from this surgery? Su Zhiying said that it is of course impossible to compare the voice of someone in their 40s with that of someone in their 20s, but at least the treble part can be restored to the height it was 10 years ago, and it is less likely to be injured when singing, and there is no need to strain the neck to sing high notes, which will lengthen the singer's life. singing career.

This surgery only needs to be performed on an outpatient basis and takes about 40 to 50 minutes. It uses local anesthesia and is painless. Since there are no wounds, there will be no major side effects.

●Wireless radio frequency reduces the hypertrophy of the tongue base and allows the voice to flow unimpeded

In addition to tonsillar hypertrophy and soft palate ptosis, which will affect the vocal range, tongue base hypertrophy and retraction will also significantly hinder the voice line. The hypertrophied tongue base can be reduced in size using radio frequency cold touch vaporization. A minimally invasive probe is inserted into the muscle layer of the tongue base through the mouth, with 1 needle each on the left, middle and right. The treatment time for each needle is about 50 seconds, the volume of the base of the tongue will gradually shrink by about 20 to 30% within a month. After the oropharyngeal cavity space is relatively increased, the voice rays will flow unimpeded, which is very helpful for the expansion of the vocal range.

●It is difficult to fully recover after laser surgery for throat inversion

It is often heard that a certain singer has lost his voice and cannot sing. The so-called "voice inversion" is mainly caused by shouting loudly or shouting Talking for a long time causes submucosal bleeding, edema, and inflammation of the vocal cords. After chronic long-term inflammation, polyps and calluses will gradually grow. If you smoke, drink alcohol, or catch a cold, you may lose your voice completely.

Although cocoons or polyps can be removed through vocal cord microlaser surgery, Su Zhiying said that there will inevitably be wounds on the vocal cord mucosa during removal, and some scars will remain after healing, and the sound will only It can be restored to 80% to 90% of its original value.

Usually, you have to refrain from singing for a week and not sing for a month after the operation. The better the postoperative care, the better the voice recovery will be. Therefore, the public is reminded to seek medical examination immediately if they find their voice hoarse and uncomfortable, and avoid speaking too loudly or shouting excessively.

●Girls’ male voices can be beautified to resolve embarrassment

Su Zhiying often treats girls with sweet looks, but their speech is very neutral, even as low as a man’s voice (girls’ male voices), often on the phone Being mistakenly called "sir" by people I don't know, in the long run, my self-confidence is damaged, and I often suffer from job hunting and making friends. I come to see a doctor in order to make my voice as sweet as that of ordinary girls.

There are actually many women with similar problems. The treatment can be solved through "modified thyroid cricoid cartilage approximation surgery". The surgery is performed under local anesthesia and painlessly, along the lines of the neck, about 2.5 transversely. Centimeter incision, use 4 sutures to bring the thyroid cartilage and cricoid cartilage closer, and use the lever principle to tilt the arytenoid cartilage backward to tighten the vocal cords. The principle of vocal cord tightening is just like tightening the violin strings, and the frequency will increase. Significantly improved.

Clinically, the audio frequency of some girls is as low as only about 140 Hz, which falls within the audio range of male voices. After surgery, it can generally be raised to the female audio range of 200 to 250 Hz, and the audio frequency is no longer heard on the phone. Will be mistaken for a boy again. The amount of blood loss during this operation can be controlled to less than 2c.c., and the operation time is about 90 minutes. The scars on the neck will gradually fade and become less obvious within half a year after the operation.

How long does it take to achieve the effect? Su Zhiying said that just like double eyelid surgery, you have to wait until the wound swelling subsides after a month to gradually see the effect. Therefore, within a month after the operation, the voice will be high, flat, and tight. Although the vocal cords are not affected by the surgery, they will still be affected and swollen. After the vocal cords are swollen and the wound gradually recovers over time, the voice frequency will enter a stable period in about 3 months to half a year, and the speaking voice will become normal for women. So gentle.

●Vocal cord atrophy and hoarseness, surgery improved 80%

Congenital and acquired vocal cord atrophy (sulcus) can cause vocal cord insufficiency, making the voice sound hoarse and breathless. , to improve this situation, it is mainly corrected with paramedian band muscle transfer surgery. The surgery is performed by incising the paramedian thyroid cartilage. The cervical strap muscles are freed and moved back into the medial space of the thyroid cartilage. The cartilage is then reset and sutured to push the atrophic vocal cords inward to fully close the glottis. The operation takes about 90 minutes to complete, and 3 months after the operation, the voice improvement can reach more than 80%.

Hyaluronic acid and autologous fat can also be used for micro-surgery of the voice

Not only can micro-surgery be performed without surgery, but the voice can also be micro-surgery. Vocal cord paralysis and inability to vibrate are sometimes caused by tumor compression or cardiac surgery, while others are caused by unknown reasons, especially unilateral vocal cord paralysis. Li Bohong, director of the Department of Otolaryngology at Zhenxing Hospital, suggested that hyaluronic acid can be applied to the vocal cords. Let it become hypertrophic, or use autologous fat to improve the problem of vocal cord paralysis.

If the vocal cords atrophy, degenerate or have a slight depression of the vocal groove, resulting in abnormal speech sounds, hyaluronic acid or autologous fat can also be injected to solve the problem. In addition, some people have hoarse voices. If it is ruled out that it is caused by malignant tumors or other diseases, if they only have small calluses or polyps, there is actually no need to go under the knife. They can be reduced and improved by taking steroids.

Eat less spicy food, drink more water, and maintain a good voice

To maintain a good voice, your daily diet should be light, especially after surgery, you should avoid spicy and spicy dishes such as spicy hotpot.*** , food that is too hot or too cold, and because restaurants and other restaurants usually have strong flavors and a lot of pepper in order to increase the deliciousness, these will cause dilation of blood vessels in the vocal cords and inflammatory reactions. Eating too much can easily affect the recovery of the voice. Therefore, it is recommended If you want to eat out, you should choose your food carefully and eat more fruits, vegetables, and fresh fish.

Postoperative rehabilitation is very important. One week after the operation, you must cooperate with vocal training, use the Dantian to push out the sound, and when speaking, the throat should be relaxed as much as possible without tightening, and the tongue and soft palate should also learn to relax. The voice will gradually become louder and the hoarseness will gradually disappear. Pronunciation habits can also be improved through practice, combined with relaxed abdominal breathing, exercising the muscle strength of the diaphragm, and using the Dantian to produce sounds. You should also get rid of the habit of speaking quickly, because when you speak quickly, your throat will tighten and the more you speak, the more difficult it will be. Try to learn to slow down and practice speaking clearly word by word.

There are mucous membranes on the vocal cords that need to be moistened when vibrating. Therefore, drinking more water can help lubricate the vocal cords, especially warm water. Generally, the average person drinks about 2000c.c. of water every day, but if you know that you must grow Spend more time talking and singing, and drink more water to increase the moisture of your vocal cords and avoid vocal cord secretions from getting stuck. The simple way at this time is to observe whether the urine is transparent and not yellow, which means there is enough water.

In addition, getting a "beauty sleep" not only helps to make the skin brighter, but also keeps the vocal cords moist. Even if you are about to develop calluses, you can still get enough sleep to repair it.

Tips for protecting your throat

1. Drink more water to moisturize your vocal cords

2. Avoid spicy and spicy food

3. No smoking or drinking