Prognosis | Inflammation of the vocal chords

Prognosis

The prognosis of vocal cord inflammation is good. Therapy should be started as early as possible and the vocal cords should be spared as much as possible. Only rarely does damage occur to the vocalis muscle, which closes the windpipe during swallowing and is also involved in voice production.

Vocal chord inflammation is contagious like colds, as the viruses can easily be spread to other people and the environment by existing coughing. If hoarseness persists for longer than 4 weeks and if therapy does not help, the presence of a tumor or tuberculosis must be ruled out by a doctor. A dreaded complication of vocal cord inflammation is vocal cord nodules, also known as scream nodules or vocal fold nodules.

These are changes in the vocal folds that are caused by the previous inflammation.Especially in people who speak a lot and often suffer from inflammation of the vocal cords, vocal cord nodules are common. The nodules lead to hoarseness and problems when speaking. An ENT physician diagnoses the disease by means of a laryngoscopy.

It is possible to treat the vocal cord nodules by speech and voice therapy with a speech therapist. In rare cases, surgical removal of the vocal fold nodules can also be considered. In this case, the elevations are removed by laser microsurgery.

Diagnosis

The vocal cords can be examined via the larynx mirror (indirect laryngoscopy). A small mirror is slid over the open mouth to the back wall of the throat. The doctor can then assess the larynx from above.

In direct laryngoscopy, an endoscope is used instead of a laryngeal mirror, which is advanced up to the larynx. The advantage of this method is that samples can be taken in addition to the examination. This is particularly useful if symptoms persist for longer than 4 weeks and a tumor is to be clarified.

In case of an acute vocal cord inflammation, both examination techniques show evenly reddened and swollen vocal cords covered with a tough mucus. If it is a chronic inflammation, thickened and reddened vocal folds and a dry mucous membrane, also of the larynx, are noticeable. With the Pseudokrupp, however, the Stimmlippen are only low reddened.