Associated symptoms
Accompanying symptoms are usually the symptoms by which the disease is also noticed. These are mainly hoarseness. The vocal chords are often affected in papillomatosis.
The accumulation of wart-like papillomas leads to an impairment of speech function. This persistent hoarseness is already a reason for most of those affected to see a doctor, which is why there are often no other accompanying symptoms. However, if the tumor grows relatively quickly or is ignored for a long time, there may also be a change in breathing.
In this case, a slight shortness of breath and restlessness is often perceived, which is caused either by a narrowed glottis or by an infiltration of the trachea. Another possible symptom is difficulty swallowing. This leads to a pronounced space requirement in the larynx.
Diagnosis
Larnyxpapillomatosis usually manifests itself in the beginning with a rough voice or hoarseness, since in the majority of cases the vocal cords are affected. If the papillomatosis is more advanced, breathing difficulties or difficulty swallowing may also occur. In this case the degeneration would already have reached a size that involves large parts of the larynx and the windpipe.
If hoarseness persists without any visible cause, a doctor should be consulted in any case. In this case a laryngoscopy is usually performed. To confirm the suspicion, a biopsy is usually also taken, in which the mucous membrane is examined histologically.
TreatmentTherapy
In principle, HPV infection is an incurable disease, as the viruses usually remain in the body for a lifetime with a previously manifested symptomatology. Therefore, despite successful surgery, a relapse often occurs after only a few weeks. In this case, surgery must be performed again.
With the juvenile form, however, children only fall ill from puberty onwards in exceptional cases, as their immune system has become stronger. Long-term therapy with antivirals can also reduce the recurrence rate, as they can permanently reduce the growth of the viruses.